The Voice - Hiatus
by Fae 206
Summary: When new artist, MAZE, is starting to become the top singer around the world. He has the style, passion, and talent to outperform even Shou. However, not many know that the actor Kuon Hizuri is also this mysterious singer. When Kyoko learns that this great singer is her husband, can she show her support especially since Kuon doesn't know that Kyoko actually knows.
1. Chapter 1 - One, Two, Testing

**AU:** So, this is yet another new Skip Beat story for me which takes place in the future with information stopping just before the Momiji arc. I feel terrible but I barely read scanslations anymore so I'm actually stuck behind on the official English translation but since it's future set hopefully you'll forgive me 😊 (please let me know if the chapters come out biweekly ever again and I'll start looking at raws.)

Well, I hope you enjoy.

 **The Voice**

 **Chapter One – One, Two, Testing**

The twenty-five-year-old was bored.

It was surprisingly true and the actor didn't think it was the confines of the Japanese acting community that made it so. The top male actor in Japan also didn't believe that this boredom was directed towards his marriage and his new wife, the top actor in Japan overall. His marriage was something that kept him motivated, kept him interested.

It also wasn't from any kind of health problem or life event, he wasn't even in a slow peak of his acting career. He was currently the main star of a hit Japanese drama which focused on life in a crime noir style.

Yet, Kuon Hizuri, was apathetic to life without a clear reason as to _why_ this was so.

In terms of his acting career, his romantic life, his friends and social life he was doing well. Apparently, outing himself as Kuon Hizuri had led to a rapid growth on his social life and getting close to other actors. Maybe it was also his marriage to Kyoko that had garnered him more friends. Although he had to admit that his manager was his closest friend – other than Kyoko - .

I truth, Kuon knew _that_ he was bored but he only had a suspicion as to why this was the case and it all revolved around _him_. The lack of Ren Tsuruga in his life was the key contributor to this excruciatingly painful boredom in his personal life.

So many years of his life had been behind creating that character, perfecting that character, and understanding that a large part of him hadn't been playing a character at all and that he had actually become the man he was by acting as Ren so much that he was a mix of both Ren _and_ Kuon.

What more, Japan _didn't_ hate him for who he was.

There had been gossiping in the beginning. A good number of rumors that Lory had to silence and people had come to learn truths about his life that Kuon hadn't been willing to share with them by that point. Still, after two years of having people call him Kuon or Hizuri-san, he had gotten used to being the fully rounded individual that he had accepted himself to be.

More than just accepting himself, it had seemed that the Western world was starting to accept him. He had taken part in several oversea dramas and films, but he was trying to figure out the best time of moving with Kyoko. Maybe that was the origin to his boredom, anxiety about the want to move and the want to leave Japan. It didn't feel like that though.

He had tried to fill the gap that Ren had left within him.

He had tried to find something that he would enjoy enough to invest hours out of his week to, but somehow all of the hobbies that he had tried, he had either lost passion for or had given up on. That was until he had discovered the guitar _and_ improved greatly on the piano.

When Kuon had first started trying to _find_ a hobby, he had thought about photography. There was a beauty in trying to capture the innocent and awe inspiring events of an everyday reality. These actions would be saved within the image. That had led him to the excitement that he had has as Corn in seeing the birds and fish and all the animals that he could just observe.

He would try to plan his day around going to different areas in Tokyo that were known for the animals that lived in those habitats, but whereas some of the birds would be hard to find, a very tall, blond, American actor, wasn't hard to find at all. Kuon would find that he would be attempting to take a shot at something inspiring and then someone else would scare the creature off by trying to take a picture of him.

Bad idea really, trying to be a nature photographer in the middle of Tokyo.

At twenty-three, Kuon had turned his attention towards writing. He was actually very good at the craft and spent hours plotting character backgrounds and interactions, making edits to his work, expanding on the scenery and settings for the worlds that he made up. He hadn't told anyone about it, but when Lory had found out about it he had tried to see if it could get published.

It could, but only under the name Kuon Hizuri.

That wasn't going to provide the same excitement that acting under the name of Ren Tsuruga would. He didn't even have to appear in person for a book to work, but the publishers wanted to use his name to sell them despite them saying that if he was a typical author they would have let him use a penname.

So, he had rejected their offer and posted it online with a fun pseudonym and it had been hailed as one of the best unpublished works at that time. It was as if he could do anything that he set his mind to, just like those celebrities who enjoyed planning their own subscription box programs. It was when he had been praised for his dabbling at poetry, that Kuon knew _exactly_ what he wanted to do.

So, over the past year and a half, Kuon had married the love of his life and gained expertise in two musical instruments. Maybe it was true when Yashiro tried to call him a demon for gaining so much skill and knowledge.

Those were the events that led to where the twenty-five-year-old was right then, sitting in a recording studio holding an electric guitar and with a microphone up to his chin.

This was going to be his first single and there were only three other people who knew about this. Surprisingly, this group did _not_ include his wife.

Kuon smiled as he played the main instrumental element of his song which showed the mastery that Kuon had over the instrument. He closed his eyes but he knew that Lory and Yashiro probably were staring at him with some kind of judging mind. Hopefully he hadn't disappointed them by campaigning so hard for a chance to sing.

Kuon would not have liked to admit that alongside his pedigree in acting which was seen as second to his wife. He had a voice that was about to release a chart topping single. For him, this was something he could do to gain some excitement in his life. He took confidence in his acting but singing was a completely new frontier for him.

Kuon took a silent inhale before he sang with such passion and heart and _heat_ the lyrics that he had spent time writing himself.

" _Change the anger inside you into light. Let it shine within you, shine out, shine bright. I'll watch you set the world alight. Then, trust me girl, I'll treasure you tonight."_

Kuon perfected the final instrumental chords of the song before allowing himself to sit there until he was notified by Nakazawa that they were done.

"I can tell why so many people are jealous of you, Kuon," he said as Kuon gave a weak smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "That is one powerful voice."

"Really?" the blond actor said with a nervous smile, "Are you sure the lyrics were alright?"

Even with all of his experience in the entertainment industry and the traumatic past incidents he had been through, by becoming Kuon, Kyoko had helped heal the son that Julie and Kuu had raised and thought of fondly. He was so lucky to have Kyoko in his life.

"They were great, Kuon" Lory said as he laughed seeing how much the man could get done if he applied himself and put full concentration onto his aims. Lory had felt that Kuon had just been treading water for a while, this new addition to his career would hopefully open up a new path for growth.

"You don't leave any talent for anyone else, that's for sure," Yashiro commented with a grin. He raised an eyebrow though as Kuon came towards the door, "Are all of your songs going to be about Kyoko, though?" he asked as Kuon laughed.

"I thought that it was said to be best when you write about what is important to you," he laughed with a grin before looking back into the booth. "Should I do it again?" he asked though that was the fourth time he had tried to perfect it. "It doesn't sound terrible, right?"

"Definitely not," Yashiro said before looking at the president and trying to decide how to address the topic that was hanging over all of them. "I still think that you should tell Kyoko about this. If she finds out on her own it might be as if you don't trust her. She just married you six months ago, I doubt you want anything to add rocks to your relationship."

Kuon shook his head before sighing as he put a damp towel to his face, "I will eventually. I'm more enjoying how fun it is to be able to do something new and people not to know that it's me. I want to see her reaction to this new persona. I think she'd understand."

"Knowing her, it was with that understanding that she agreed to marry you," Lory commented, "but don't make her wait too long. That girl does not like to be left out and being treated like an outsider by her own husband, hopefully that won't cause too much damage."

"So," Yashiro said as he took the recording that Nakazawa handed to him. "What have you planned out for the name of this persona?"

"I want to go by the stage name Maze," Kuon said as the three men stared at him confused but Lory looked up.

"I like it," he admitted, "It gives it an air of mystery and it's easy to remember. It also fits the rock vibe of the debut song."

Kuon nodded, "Then Maze it is," he said not wanting to talk about the meaning of the real word, maize.

…..

…..

Kuon smiled up at his wife as they sat in the new restaurant that Kyoko had asked to try out. It was a more modern restaurant which was almost like a diner but much more elegant. The music they played consisted of some classic rock but a lot of it was glam rock, new rock, or pop rock. The music wasn't the reason why Kyoko had picked the restaurant.

It was the beautiful drinks, the hamburgers on the menu, the idea that she could be intimate with her husband despite people wanting to capture all of their dates and publish them in their magazines. It was elegant and had had a rich young woman on the advertisement. Kyoko had been excited to learn what a rich young lady's version of hamburger eggs would be.

"Kuon," Kyoko smiled as she took in how gorgeous her husband looked in his designer, long-sleeved tee and jeans that gripped his butt just so. "I have to tell you that I was offered a short-term project in the UK," she said to him as Kuon smiled, his eyes showing his surprise.

"Wow," he laughed before taking a sip of his drink, "That sounds like an amazing opportunity if you go for it," he said as she nodded. "You know I'm supportive of whatever you want to do," he told her as he reached forward to take her hand and bring it up to his lips.

"I love you for that, Kuon" Kyoko replied, "You know that I'd support you."

"I do know that you support me," Kuon smiled as he nodded. "We'll work things out. If you want to do it then go for it," he said as he held her hand again and squeezed it to show his support for her. It was then that he heard the very familiar intro to a new song. He tried to keep a passive face as he heard himself sing and he made a note in his mind each time he felt that he could have done better on a part.

He hadn't noticed the restaurant around him that had gone silent over how impressed people were with his song. He looked up at Kyoko and saw that she was grinning excitedly over the music. It looked like she really enjoyed it.

"Who do you think sings this?" she asked him as Kuon shrugged.

"I'm not sure, you know that I'm not the best person to ask when it comes to new artists," he lied flawlessly, so well in fact that Kyoko couldn't even detect it.

Kyoko looked up at the waiter as he passed the table and the song had ended, "Can you tell me who sang that?" she asked getting out her phone. Kuon felt his stomach sink out of panic on what she might find. Fortunately all that was known about 'MAZE' was that he was part of LME.

"It's a new singer, MAZE, isn't it great?" the waiter grinned to her.

Kyoko laughed, "So much better than Shou," she joked with Kuon having no idea that this new powerful singer was her husband who was sitting right in front of her.

 **AN 2:**

First of all thank you for reading, if people seem interested in me continuing this then please leave a review and also please forgive me for slower uploads on all of my fics this upcoming week or two. I'm going to be taking a look at all of them and evaluating where I'd like to take them next.


	2. Chapter 2 - A Promo Poster

**AN:** Thank you all for supporting my work 😊 I love the reviews, of course (since it kind of makes me depressed when I have 100+ views on a chapter but not a single review ) but I really am just having fun with this. I'm sorry that I'm not very good at song writing though. I hope to get better. Anyway, thank you for the support and please enjoy.

 **Chapter Two – A Promo Poster**

Over the past three weeks, the single had blown up so much larger than anyone could have predicted. Kuon had wanted to do this as an experiment and now the song was starting to be used for advertisements and in stores and restaurants. There were even some people who said that there American J-Rock fans who were making the song popular within the United States.

All of this with just one song he did because he was bored. People didn't even know that it was him.

Kuon wondered how long he could continue this.

After the song had started playing everywhere, people had been contacting LME wanting to find out how to buy their own copy. Since Kuon hadn't expected to even make a dent in the ratings, rather than his first song still being at the top of the charts for three weeks with his second 'attempt' to debut that day, they hadn't considered selling it.

They had had to quickly put something together which was a white cover and Kuon standing there with a black hoody with gold stripe around the hood and the words printed in a scripted format: LME presents MAZE.

That had been enough, Kuon had thought until there were posters being printed up for the album and money was coming in over what he had expected. Thankfully it was being deposited to a separate account than the one he shared with Kyoko.

He still wondered how she didn't know it was him, but he was happy for it. Nobody knew it was him apart from the three men who had helped him to record it. Everything about the project went to LME and Lory was the one who gave permission whether or not it was used.

"Okay, so for this next scene we really wanted to use some music and people get excited," the director said as he came and stood out in front of the cast. "We are going to be the first drama to get to use MAZE's second single."

There was the sound of people talking excitedly about this and Kuon tried to match it. For this next song he had still stayed within the light rock theme but had played the piano instead of the guitar. Maybe that would mean that people didn't like his music as much, it would be interesting to see how different groups of people reacted.

Before the scene began, Kuon could feel his manager come behind him with a playful smile on his face. "Are you going to comment on it?" Kuon asked as Yashiro laughed.

"I don't know what you mean, however, I do think that MAZE's songs are doing as well as I've expected. How does Kyoko think about the songs?" Yashiro commented and Kuon rolled his eyes.

"I don't know, she doesn't mention him much, just that she's glad that somebody good is at the top of the charts. She told me not to worry about MAZE if he does beat me as one of Japan's top performers because I'll always be her number one," Kuon chuckled before shaking his head.

Yashiro shook his head with a smile, "You know that I really think you should tell her, but are you going to? I mean, it's probably a good thing that she's going away, right?"

Kuon shook his head with a grin, "For her career, yes, but I'll definitely miss her. I'm just having far too much fun to slow down. If people find out they find out but I just don't think there is _anything_ to find out," he winked before getting ready to deliver his acting performance.

"I bet you're relieved that she's leaving now, right before your anniversary of when the two of you started dating," Yashiro commented, "Doesn't she usually like to make hamburger and eggs with fresh corn and vegetables on the side?"

"Yes," Kuon nodded. "It's the meal which celebrates our childhood and the time we spent together when I went to Kyoto at that age."

"Okay," Yashiro nodded, "but what is another word for corn?"

Kuon chuckled, "Just part of the fun," he replied, he should never have questioned the fact that Yashiro didn't know the true meaning behind the name.

…..

…..

Kyoko stood facing the poster that she had been given for buying the deluxe version of MAZE's single. She had an odd flashback of when she had been into getting things for Shou, but this was different. She hadn't gotten this poster or the special edition CD because she had an infatuation with the singer. Really, she loved the song that he had performed and she wanted to support it.

Somehow the voice had sounded very familiar, but she wasn't sure where she knew it from. Then again she had been around a lot of celebrities as an actress and even more so as a talent and a host when she filled in for Yuusei Ishibashi for a few months after his car accident.

She must have heard them sing as one of the guests, she just couldn't pinpoint which one.

A lot of bands broke up and the members decided to branch out into different directions. That must be the case here.

The picture on the poster wasn't very distinctive, a hoodie and a flash of gold, it didn't actually reveal who this person was. Even though Kanae had said that the only reason someone would be putting out a cover that showed a hooded figure instead of them attempting to look sexy for the women was because they were ugly.

Kyoko didn't think so.

It was probably that they _had been_ part of a larger group of artists but there had been rivalry and a tense breakup of the band and now the individual wanted to sing just for the joy of singing. That's why he picked a name that wasn't his own. A lot of singers did do that, right?

The other thing was that she didn't want to be caught with a poster of MAZE and she definitely didn't want to hang it up on the wall. She knew that Kuon had a jealous side to his personality and though she thought it was mainly being a protective husband, maybe the fact that people were talking about MAZE more than Kuon would lead to him feeling unimportant….or was that just how Shou would feel?

She didn't want to have the poster on the wall and then for Kuon to find out he was ranked as the second favorite celebrity and MAZE was the first.

She should just come clean with Kuon and ask him if he could get her the next CD/MP3 combo pack that MAZE released. Maybe by the time she was back from England, there would be a concert that she could go to with Moko-chan. She could just imagine MAZE standing there with his guitar and a high level of energy.

She just really felt that she _knew_ that voice from somewhere.

Well, she would have to get ready to go to the UK soon and start work for her own acting project. The president had said it was a short time, but two months did _not_ feel like a short time when she wouldn't have Kuon with her. She took a deep breath in and then sighed, rolling up the poster and going to the closet to set it down. It was there that she found Kuon's acoustic guitar.

She knew he liked to play it for fun, maybe if he heard MAZE's song it would inspire him. He had played the piano so wonderfully as Katsuki that maybe he could learn how to play something for her on the guitar. He said he wasn't very good at playing it, but she knew his talent. Sometimes he was far too modest for his own good.

Turning on the radio, Kyoko listened to an old song of Shou's.

She felt a little bad for him, recently his new material hadn't been selling that well and it was that he didn't have the youth image that he had at one point. She had always had belief that he could sing, but it was as if the world was bored of hearing him. She had definitely taken the spotlight away from him. Still, compared to the old Shou Fuwa singles, MAZE was impressive and her heart just beat harder with the way he sang.

If only she could place that voice.

After a little while of listening and packing her bag for that weekend, Kyoko heard the radio DJ laugh and then announce, "This is a treat for all of you out there, not even out in stores yet, it's MAZE's second single. Let's see if it's as good as the first if not better."

Kyoko smiled and she put down the clothes that she was currently folding for her bag.

 _My fist tightens over those dark mistakes. Blood can stain right under my skin. Leaving the rush of nothing. Original Sin. Original Sin._

Kyoko heard the door open, but instead of going to greet Kuon like usual, she listened to the piano and the way that MAZE managed to have soft notes as well as harder notes. It was as if he were attacking the notes but also playing with a lot of mastery over the instrument. He _owned_ the instrument.

 _Rush of blood. Rush of life. Rush of the wiiiiind. You can't choose when that part of your life will begin. For your original sin._

Kuon stood by the door to their bedroom, just watching his wife staring at the radio. Everyone had been talking about the special early access that they had had to the single only a few hours ago. Now he was listening to it again and he could spot all of the flaws that he had recorded. He also expected his wife to turn to him and know from the voice, which sounded much different when he was singing, that it was him.

 _Exposed to the light. Make that virtue your aim for the fight. Because we all have to live with the pain within. Led through life by that original sin._

"I think he sounded better with the guitar," Kuon commented with a smile as Kyoko turned to him with a huge grin on her face. "So, I can tell by your expression that you lik-"

Kyoko paused before interrupting her husband, "Welcome home, Kuon," she smiled before looking at the radio and quickly turning it off. "How was work today?"

"It was good, the drama is turning out nicely. You didn't have to switch that off if you were enjoying it, you know," he chuckled and then made sure that when he looked her over, she had no idea that the person singing those lyrics was him.

That meant he could play on this game a little longer.

"Oh no, it's not that, it's just that it's like the singer has actually experienced those things," Kyoko tried to protest, "but he's no match for you, Kuon."

Kuon sighed and looked up with a playful smile, "Aww, really? It would have been nice to have some competition and he's a good singer, just not my style," he lied. With another chuckle, Kuon looked at Kyoko. "You do realize that unlike Fuwa, you don't need to stroke my ego. There are hundreds of other people who are competition for me and at least a dozen of those unknown or undiscovered people are better than me. I can only do my best, right?"

"Right," Kyoko nodded to him. "You are always going to be the best to me though, but that might be because you're my husband and in my eyes you are the best man that I've ever met," she put her hands on his shoulders and led him into a passionate kiss.

"Did I tell you today how much I'm going to miss you when you're away?" he asked as he looked at the suitcase. "So, right now it's January, that means that you'll be back…in April?" he asked as Kyoko looked down with a nod.

"You promise that you'll get the time off to visit me over the tenth?" she asked with her eyes searching him. She hated when the two of them couldn't celebrate birthdays together because of work. It often felt that they were prioritizing work over one another and Kuon had never missed her birthday. Even one time he had to fly back on Christmas Eve just to be with her and then fly back on the 26th.

"I've already booked the trip, February eighth to the sixteenth," Kuon grinned to her and Kyoko laughed.

"Well then I'll have to find a way of celebrating you on Valentine's Day, won't I, Kuon?" she asked before sinking into another kiss.

She didn't know why MAZE's songs gave her a similar feeling to when she was with her husband.

Hopefully that didn't mean anything.


	3. Chapter 3 - Finding the Maize

**AN:** I changed the plot to this story which you'll see in this chapter. I've also become depressed over my writing and almost wanted to stop last night. So, I'm only going to concentrate on six of my fics (including this one). I feel like I'm failing the reviewers and also feel upset when I get 150 hits on a fic with zero reviews so I guess do whatever you want. I might not update as fast anyway since I have school coming up soon too.

 **Chapter Three – Finding the Maize**

Kyoko was already missing her husband when she arrived at Heathrow Airport. By the time she got to baggage claim, she couldn't think of anything else. She had told Kuon that she wanted for him to buy the MAZE album when it came out and she had seen his distant look. He wasn't that much like Shoutaro that he would be upset because she liked someone else's performances, right?

She still couldn't stop the feeling that she _knew_ that voice.

As she got to the arrivals gate, she saw someone with a sign for her and smiled at the name: Kyoko Hizuri.

She always felt a little lighter when she read those words. She was _Kuon's_ wife. She had somebody who loved her and who wanted to love her. There was somebody who she could trust not to hurt her. When she got to the driver, she bowed deeply "Hello," she said, "Thank you for meeting me. I'm Hizuri Kyoko, my manager is arriving tomorrow so thank you for taking care of me in her place."

"Oh, yes…" the British driver said as he gave a slight bow too, not wanting Kyoko to feel out of place. "I'll be taking you to the flat that has been arranged for you for the coming months and then later there is a meet and greet that the director has set up. I am to be your chauffeur for the duration of your trip."

Kyoko smiled, glad that she was able to speak in proper English and understand the nuances, although she had learned how to do it properly by practicing with her American husband.

"Thank you," Kyoko smiled happily. "I'll be looking forward to it," she watched as he took her bags and then tried to walk beside him, "I don't mind taking my own bags," she said knowing that this driver would be even harder to argue with than with Kuon who would routinely take her bags before she could even reach for them.

"I have it," the driver smiled, "My name is Michael by the way," he told her, "Michael Whyte, but please feel free to call me Michael," he said as Kyoko nodded. She had, of course, dealt with foreigners before. Thank god for having an American for a husband. "If it isn't too improper for me to note, when you're speaking English you have a Californian accent. Did you study there?"

"Oh, no" Kyoko said as she looked down, "My husband, he was born and raised in Los Angeles in California. He's one quarter Japanese, but he spent all of his early years in America before coming to Japan. He's taught me a lot."

"He's also in acting?" Michael asked as Kyoko smiled.

"He's the best," she nodded, "He's been in a few international movies as well. A lot of his most recent movies have him as a blond, but when he first started with the international shoots, he was a brunette."

"So, if it isn't out of line, the two of you are only in acting? Some of our British actors and actresses like to do stage performances, modelling, or even singing," Michael said as he took her to the business car outside and put Kyoko's bags in the boot of the car.

Kyoko laughed, "I haven't heard my husband sing, I know he can play instruments but he's always told me that it would be embarrassing for me to hear him sing. I take it that he's a bad singer, I mean, I can't sing very well either so I'm not in any position to judge. He does model though."

"Wait," Michael said as things clicked in his head, "Is your husband's name Kuon Hizuri, he's very famous for the action films that he filmed in the US, plus he's been a part of a few BBC dramas, small roles but his acting is top notch."

"Yes," Kyoko said feeling very proud to be with such a prestigious actor, "That's him. I think he's one of only a few Americans that belong to my agency."

"Well then, Mrs. Hizuri, I am looking forward greatly to seeing you in your performance," Michael said before driving off to the flat.

….

….

A couple of hours later, Kyoko had set things up in the flat and was dying to call her husband. She still felt a little tired from her flight. She knew that Kuon had told her that she should call him as soon as she landed even if it _was_ the middle of the night, but shouldn't she let him rest?

No matter how much she wanted to just call him and let him know that she had arrived safely and that she missed him already, she wanted to not disturb him if he was trying to sleep. She pulled out her phone where she had MAZE's songs on there and sat back on the bed.

Why did the voice feel so comforting and so relaxing?

She listened to the lyrics again, why did it feel that they were speaking directly to her? She closed her eyes and then opened her laptop. Maybe there was a way of getting MAZE's albums delivered here. There were surely ways of getting music from abroad. As she did a search on the singer, she hadn't realized that the track had stopped and that instead of going to a new song, there was silence.

Kyoko tried to use the internet that they had already set up in the flat and then tried to type MAZE into the search bar. However, her finger slipped and instead of writing MAZE she typed in 'maize'. Her eyes opened as she stared at the search results feeling a sense of frustration within her. She took the earbuds out and placed her phone on the bed, exiting the music app.

'Maize: technical or chiefly British term for corn.'

Her eyes widened as she started to feel like an idiot reading that sentence, term for _CORN!?_

Seriously! Was that why his voice was so familiar!? "Kuon," she growled out not knowing whether to contact her husband or not. She wanted to yell at him for making her seem like such an idiot to him. Did he _want_ that to happen? She looked at the picture of the first single. She should have known her husband well enough to know that he'd pull something like this off.

Then again, he did have a really nice voice. Since he had never really sung, she hadn't known what his voice sounded like and now it was the voice behind two number one singles. Did he _really_ think that she was an idiot? More than that, if he wanted to keep it a secret, why wouldn't he trust her with it? She could keep his secrets and if he had come up to her before he had recorded the song, she would have been supportive. Why wouldn't he tell her. It was obvious that other people knew.

She picked up her phone again wanting to yell at him, but then stopped.

If he didn't want her to know about this then she wouldn't tell him that she knew.

As much as she wanted to dial his number and ask him, 'Kuon, are you a chart topping singer who lied to your wife about it?' maybe it would be a lot more fun if he didn't know that she knew. He didn't _want_ her to know after all.

She took a deep breath and looked down, she could accept the challenge but now she had to ask herself the question of whether this made her angry at her husband or angry at the situation that he had created. She didn't think he had lied to her with bad intentions and she still loved him deeply. She was frustrated with him for his actions, but he probably hadn't been really thinking over it.

So, she still loved him and she knew that he loved her, but she should be allowed to have her own fun when it came to this, right?

"Kuon, you're such an idiot sometimes," she huffed before looking back at the picture of her and Kuon on their wedding day that she had set on the bedside table. She looked down before grabbing her phone, who cared if it was the middle of the night in Japan? Her husband deserved a little bit of discomfort after what he had done to her.

She picked the phone up and dialed his number, after only two rings he answered it.

"Hey," Kuon smiled as Kyoko imagined his warm smile, "How are you, princess? Getting everything set up?"

Kyoko grabbed onto the sheets to avoid showing any of her anger, she had to remember the acting techniques. However, it was this idiot who had taught her a lot of things that she knew about how to act. "I'm doing well, it was a long plane ride. I just wish that you were beside me during it."

"So do I," Kuon replied, "It's going to be painful to be away from the woman I love."

"Well, I'm sure that time will fly by for the both of us as we are _very_ busy," she said as she looked at the image search where it just showed pictures of corn. Damnit! Why did he have to be so childish as to pick a name that had a double meaning. It was when he told Kyoko about how much he liked birds and nature that she had picked up on the fact that a wren was important to him.

"Yes, I guess so," Kuon said as he looked down, "Kyoko, there's something that I feel I need to tell you."

Kyoko paused and rolled her eyes. He wasn't going to tell her about his secret identity over the phone. Was he kidding her? He couldn't tell her wit whilst they were both in Japan but the second that she wouldn't be able to playfully hit him or call him an idiot to his face, he was ready to be honest about it.

"Well, aren't you visiting me in a couple of weeks, Corn?" she asked wanting to make him feel even guiltier about it. "You can tell me then, unless…it isn't to do with your health, right? If it's to do with you being sick then you have to tell me immediately."

Okay, so she didn't want to hear anything that she couldn't change, but she was willing to hear him out if he was ill. No matter how angry she was at him, if he was sick he had to tell her immediately. A couple of years ago, Kuon had experienced some health issues with a stomach ulcer, but fortunately he had healed and the ulcer had been healed.

"I'm alright," Kuon chuckled, "And I promise that I'm eating," he sighed before his voice came out calmly again. "I'll wait until I see you then, if that's what you want."

"That _is_ what I want," Kyoko said, "unless you are sick or hurt. If you get into an accident, I need Yashiro to call me immediately. I don't care if I'm in the middle of filming, if you're unconscious after being in a car accident, I need to know. If a light falls on you, I need to know full details about any injuries."

"So, I'll try my best not to get into a car accident and to avoid falling lights, good tips," Kuon told her and Kyoko looked down.

"Kuon, do you think that I'm stupid?" she asked as he laughed at that.

"Sorry," he said trying to stop the laugh that had come out, "Kyoko, you are the most intelligent person that I know. You are much smarter than I am. How could I ever think that you're stupid. Is there a reason for this? Someone didn't call you that, did they?" 

"No, not directly," Kyoko said before closing her eyes. If he wasn't trying to test her stupidity, why had he been hiding this from her? "I will say, Kuon, that I'm not more intelligent than you and don't you dare argue that I am," she said. She was fully aware of how smart her husband was and how he could do everything, including singing it seemed.

"You know, Kyoko, I'm not going to argue with you if you say that despite how I feel. You'll promise to call me if you ever need someone to talk to, won't you?" he asked as Kyoko felt her frustration start to leave her.

"Yes," she nodded. "I have to get going, there's some meeting with the cast soon. I love you, Corn."

"I love you too, stay safe and remember you can call me whenever you need to," Kuon said quickly.

"I will," Kyoko said before they exchanged goodbyes. She hung up the phone and stared at it.

Was she really willing to pretend to not know what he was doing behind her back? Well, why not? She could have her own fun with Kuon until he was ready to tell her what was going on. That's what he deserved for his deceit.


	4. Chapter 4 - Super Powered Californian

**AN:** Thank you for the support, please enjoy

 **Chapter Four: A Super Powered Californian**

The meeting had gone amazing the night before, she had met most of the cast members although the director wasn't there, so hopefully this morning was the best time to make an impression.

Kyoko had made sure to dress in the best Western fashion that she could, she wore a simple pink cardigan, lacy white blouse, and pink skirt, she also had on a pair of white closed toe sandals with a pink and gold charm in the shape of a heart on the buckle. It might be a little cliché but she could at least tell everyone that _Kuon_ had bought her these shoes.

There was a point during their engagement, when she had lost a job and had been heartbroken over it. She had lost her confidence and had been eating less than him, he had then gone out and bought her these very fashionable white sandals. Before he could even get out a story, she had hugged him and thanked him for them. Now she could look at them and think that even though he sometimes acted similar to how an idiot would, that he loved her and he had _bought_ her something he really thought she'd enjoy wearing.

As sweet as he was, she sometimes didn't understand what went through his mind.

She had tried to arrive earlier than she usually would only to have found that it was just her, a few members of the crew, and the director. She probably should not have been thirty minutes early. At least she had been able to introduce herself before the director had to go and do something.

Nervously, Kyoko looked down at her phone. She had gone on international trips before and, again because she was married to an American, managed to get a good international phone plan. She looked at the time and wondered what time it was back in Japan and if she could make a phone call.

She decided to do so, she grinned once she received a muffled greeting.

"Moko!" Kyoko giggled, "Hi, I'm so glad that you answered the call. I'm so nervous being here without Kuon, he came with me last time."

Kanae rolled her eyes, "You need a _guy_ to come to your workplace with you? Mo. How long ago was it that you graduated from the Love Me section?" she asked.

"Well, a while and I love Kuon despite him frustrating me right now, but this is for a bigger role. It's much more nerve wracking. Kuon told me that I should just do my best and that they'd fall in love with me like he did," Kyoko repeated the words her husband had told her. She could imagine Kanae rolling her eyes on the other end of the line.

"That guy knows all the tricks, doesn't he?" she sighed. "If he didn't make you so happy I'd call him out on all of it, but I guess you two are just idiots in love with one another," she smiled, "and compared to most guys, I guess Kuon's okay."

"I'll tell him that you said that," Kyoko laughed, "You know what, Moko, sometimes Kuon feels that you don't like him very much," she teased her friend. It was half true, Kanae did, at times, act like Kuon was a deceitful, despicable individual who would lead Kyoko into trouble. Kuon just smiled through this and accepted it as Kanae's personality and that he might always be put that way just because the two of them loved Kyoko so much.

"I…it's not that I…don't…" Kanae struggled to explain before Kyoko cut her off.

"I know, Moko…you can keep a secret for me, right?" she asked as Kanae sighed dramatically.

"You know that I can do that, but is it going to be a secret that I want to know?" she asked and before she could get another word out, Kyoko whispered into the phone.

"Kuon is MAZE," she said, "The singer. I had to find out through…well I found out. Can you please not tell anyone, Moko?" Kyoko begged, "I still want to have my fun with this since he doesn't know that I know."

"It would be fun to get payback on him for not telling you," Kanae replied, "and I always thought that his singing would suck. I mean, a lot of really good actors can't even sing in the right key, let alone sing that well."

"Kuon is a man of many talents," Kyoko nodded with a smile.

…..

…..

"Nice work today crew," the director smiled as the actors started to unwind. Kyoko walked towards her phone and turned it on. She smiled at the text that Kuon had sent her as she slipped her wedding ring back on her finger:

'Break a leg today! I believe in you. I'll be waiting up if you want to call - Love Kuon'

Kyoko laughed as she shook her head with a big smile. He was so cute sometimes that it was hard to be too angry with him. She called him back as she headed to the dressing room. She grinned as she heard his voice.

"Hello there," he said in his suave voice and Kyoko blushed.

"/Don't try any emperor of the night tricks on me until _after_ I've changed,/" she told him in a joking manner, forgetting that she was still speaking in English.

"/Are we trying out our Western accents/?" Kuon answered back in his natural Californian accent. "/Are you going to say how strange my voice is. You know _this_ one is my real one./"

Kyoko blushed as she heard that natural Southern Californian voice. It always made her feel a schoolgirl level of love for him, hearing him speaking naturally was part of her Kryptonite. Thankfully MAZE hadn't sung in English yet, if she was to hear a smooth Californian voice singing all about love she might not be able to handle it.

"Okay, I'll switch back to Japanese," Kuon laughed softly. "Did I really make you go speechless again? All I'm doing is talking naturally,"

"And that's your secret weapon," Kyoko said as she laughed switching to speaking Japanese as well. "Your emperor of the night power is increased ten times when you're speaking as a Californian," she commented as Kuon laughed at that statement. "You know," Kyoko smiled playfully as she wondered whether she could actually create a plan that Kuon would follow, "I wonder if MAZE would ever sing anything in English. I wonder if he even knows how to speak English."

"How would I know?" Kuon shrugged, "I'm not that interested in most music, it seems you've got enough love for MAZE for both of us," he said.

"Oh, you don't love him?" Kyoko asked before waiting to hear Kuon's awkward pause, "It's alright if you don't, different people like different things, Kuon."

"So, my secret power is my voice? That's not very creative, I want a different secret power," he said as Kyoko laughed imagining his adorable 'that's not fair', childlike pout. She covered her mouth to stop her laughing at the mental image.

"It's not like I have a secret power at all, Kuon. Can't you feel more sympathy for me?" she asked before hearing his chuckle.

"How can you not have the secret power of being able to communicate with the fairies, who else but you has that much creativity, Kyoko," he laughed. "I mean, you came up with the fairy kingdom idea."

"You're the one who pretended to be prince of fairyland," Kyoko attempted to argue with her husband.

Kuon laughed as Kyoko started to fold the clothes she had taken off and put hers on again. "I never declared myself as prince of fairyland, that would be quite an inappropriate thing for a ten year old boy to do especially with someone younger. I just never…denied the fact that you said I was the fairy prince. You were the one who proposed the idea, I just…played along with it."

"So now you're trying to take back what you said about fairyland, trying to say that it doesn't exist," Kyoko said as she felt her heart tug in her chest at how she missed him.

"I wouldn't do that either, I have belief that there are a number of things that we can't explain, fairies might be part of the unknown," he said as Kyoko laughed. "Kyoko, did you just laugh at me again?" he chuckled, happy to hear that she was happy.

"It always surprises me how the emperor of the knight, the top male star in Japan, can be so…unique," she said, "And I am really happy that I get to share my life with him."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment, Kyoko," Kuon replied, "And I'm happy too. So, are you still at set?"

"I…" Kyoko said as she looked around.

"I take it you're still on set, but probably in your dressing room. Well, call me whenever you want to and especially if you need someone to talk to. I know that there are some things you prefer discussing with Kotonami, but I'm here too," Kuon said as Kyoko felt a warmth in her heart from just listening to him.

He probably hadn't meant any harm in keeping his singing career a secret.

"You as well, Kuon," she said. "If you get in trouble or don't know what an archaic word in a strange script means -"

"Well for those things I ask the chicken," Kuon teased her back. "I'll see you soon, I love you, princess."

"I love you too, Prince Corn," she smiled before hanging up. "I also love you as MAZE, you jerk," she smiled. She'd really have to see if he heard her about MAZE releasing something in English. Maybe if he did that, he would become famous in more than Japan. However, Kuu would know automatically. Someone with a Californian accent being a singer at LME, didn't leave a lot of candidates….if even a second candidate could be found.

….

….

One week later, Kuon had woken up to hear how everyone was loving MAZE's new English song titled Eternity. It was a song about loving a girl that you had seen looking at you in the _mirror_ for _eternity_. Fortunately everyone was paying more attention to the American voice rather than the fact that the English translations for Kuon and Kyoko were each in there a dozen times.

Lory had called Kuon to his office to sit down and talk to a huge fan of MAZE. In this, Kuon had had to pick a style for MAZE and so had chosen a designer hoodie, a silver wig in a side swept designer style, and dark glasses. He had come up to meet this huge and very popular fan wondering what the president was up to.

This better not be Kyoko.

He entered the office and paused as he saw his father sitting there. He took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice, "Wow, Hizuri Kuu, it's really Kuu…"

"Really?" Kuu asked as he continued eating a slice of cake that had apparently apparated from somewhere else.

"Really?" 'MAZE' asked as Kuu shook his head with a playful smile.

"I thought Julie and I had raised you to be more clever about this. You are _playing_ to get found out, aren't you?" Kuu asked. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be treated like an idiot with this. Though, you did pretend to not know how to sing for years."

"Maybe I didn't want to be treated like a show pony," Kuon laughed as he took of the disguise and stood there opposite his father. "Do you know how much mom would have made me sing had I had any kind of a voice at that age. I only started taking vocal lessons when I was playing Katsuki. I enjoyed the piano a lot," he attempted to explain as Kuu smiled happily.

"Well, you're going to need a believable American record producer," he said as Kuon stared at his dad.

"And that's where you come in?" Kuon asked before looking at the president, "You are kidding right? There's no way that I'm already international," he stated as Lory shrugged.

"You already are, might as well let Kuu join in on it," he said as Kuon blinked.

How big was this going to get?


	5. Chapter 5 - I love you too

**AN:** Hope you enjoy

 **Chapter Five – I love you too**

When Kyoko woke up to see a notification in her inbox about the English song that MAZE had just released, she smiled. So, she hadn't known her husband well enough to know that he could sing that impressively, but she knew him well enough to get to hear his English singing voice. However, now that people could listen wouldn't they know instantly that it was one of the few Americans that LME hired.

It was true that each of these professionals had some Japanese blood in them, but the number of Japanese-Americans was limited within the company. Nobody else was from California to her knowledge. Then again, maybe it was her exposure to Americans that had led to her familiarity with accents.

She just hoped that he was doing alright with his plan.

….

….

A little over a week later, Kyoko had heard MAZE's new song a few times. It impressed her that her husband had blown up so big in such a short amount of time. It also made her a little sad for him. Here he was recording music that people in the United Kingdom were listening to on the radio and yet it had taken him years to get internationally known as an actor.

He had such a rich depth and professionalism as an actor and Kyoko knew that there were a lot of roles he would outperform her in. He had studied acting. He had mastered acting. Yet, it was his singing that was exploding across the world and bringing attention to his skills. Kyoko felt that he deserved better as an actor.

She was exiting her dressing room in costume when she heard two of her costars talking with each other. This was interesting.

"He looked so…exotic," one of the actresses said with a smile. "Can you believe it, his smile was scary it was like an explosion."

Kyoko smiled as hope seemed to light up her heart. Maybe he had come to see her without telling her. She could believe that, he had after all started a music career without her being informed. She listened to the second actress and closed her eyes as she pictured the person they were describing.

"He was so friendly too, that blond Californian hair which makes you think of the beach," she said as the second actress laughed.

"Yeah, he's just the type of guy you would expect to wear those shell necklaces and be able to surf," she said as Kyoko stood and then went to where the girls had said that the man was. She walked over to the hallway and then grinned as she saw him there with a bouquet of flowers.

"Hello, Corn" she smiled.

Why was it that she could just look at him and her anger about MAZE melted away. Her husband was standing there with flowers for her and she couldn't take her eyes off of the white button up shirt and black pants which were slightly tight in areas.

"Very classy today, aren't we?" he smiled to her. "I thought I'd surprise you by coming a couple of days earlier than planned."

"Am I keeping you from your work?" Kyoko asked as she accepted the flowers and then looked around for where to put them. She smiled as Kuon took out a vase and kissed her cheek.

"Managed to finish up a few things earlier than I expected. I told Yashiro that I needed to see my wife, he didn't have a problem with that," he said as Kyoko watched him. "I'll put these in your dressing room for you," he said as Kyoko grinned and reached up to kiss him again.

"You are incredible, Kuon," she smiled happily before looking over to where the other actresses were watching her. She blushed and let her husband kiss the top of her head before leaving. Kyoko looked down. How did he always seem so amazing whenever he touched her? She almost forgot about her anger towards him.

As she came onto the set she felt ready to act. She quickly informed the director of who the blond was and was glad when it refreshed his memories of Kuon's previous work.

….

….

After she had finished her work, Kyoko took Kuon's hand and pulled him back to her dressing room. "So," she grinned, still excited that he was here with her and knowing that she hadn't actually realized just how much she _had_ missed him. "What do you think?"

"Amazing," Kuon said as he smiled to her, "It's a good role."

"A small one," Kyoko said with a playful smile, "but I started out with a soda commercial and dressing up as a chicken. I think if I can sparkle, I might one day be as wanted as my husband. Though he is a foreigner so he does have an advantage."

Kuon laughed and shook his head, "Really, that's your reasoning? That I'm a foreigner it's easier for me to get international roles?" he asked, "I'd say that my wife is talented and beautiful and courageous enough to be wanted by anyone."

"And yet I can't sing that well," Kyoko sighed as she saw Kuon move nervously. "I heard from Moko-chan that you got to see MAZE perform in concert, I was so jealous that I had to buy tickets for myself," she saw him open his mouth and then looked down with a sigh. "But please do me a favor and don't spoil anything about the concert, I really want to see MAZE perform and it's making me homesick that I can't see him. I wonder if he's dating someone," Kyoko blushed as Kuon looked at her confused.

"I thought that people didn't know much about MAZE," he said as Kyoko shook her head.

"There's a lot of information about MAZE online such as that he likes to eat chicken but he looooves sweet foods and can eat a lot. He especially likes ice cream sundaes," she said as Kuon stared at her completely confused. "Just because you don't like sweets that much Kuon doesn't mean that there aren't people who do."

"I guess I don't listen to music that much," he smiled as Kyoko started to undress and Kuon looked from side to side trying to decide on whether to tell her or not.

"You know what the best thing about finding out this information about MAZE is though?" she asked and Kuon coughed a little.

"Wh-at?" he asked with his thoughts running through his mind as if they were on a very rapid rollercoaster.

"That I get to find it all out myself, I get to look up the information and be surprised by it," she said feeling that Kuon needed to sweat a little more. He had lied to her. She picked up her bag and dropped a notebook on the floor. She had been keeping this book for when Kuon visited her but she hadn't expected it to be used this soon. Fortunately it flipped open to the first page which was a heart with two names in it, Kyoko + MAZE.

Kyoko forced herself to blush, convincing Kuon that this was her being very embarrassed that her husband saw a message with such love in it. "Oh god, Kuon, this doesn't mean anything," she said quickly. "I love you too."

"You –" Kuon coughed as Kyoko finally buttoned up her last shirt button, " love me _too?"_

"Well, you're just you and MAZE is a fantasy," she said as she took Kuon back again.

What on earth was Kyoko talking about _just you_? He was supposed to be her husband and even if they weren't married, he was a famous actor and he had always helped her out. He didn't know how to take this, the notebook, the informal words.

Kyoko looked him over, had she pushed him enough to get him shaken up. Was he starting to get worried and feel guilty about how he had tried to trick her. She wondered what her next move should be but instead watched him take a few steps back.

"I'm really sorry," Kuon said with a complicated look, "I forgot that I have to go see an old costar," he lied and Kyoko could tell by his body language that he wasn't telling the truth. So, was lying just something that he did naturally

"I'd be happy to go with you, I'm not doing anything for the rest of the day," Kyoko said, deciding not to say anything further about MAZE at least not right at that moment.

Kuon shook his head and kissed her again, "I'm so sorry, princess," he said, "I have to handle this myself. Is that alright?"

Kyoko opened her mouth to argue but realized that she didn't have any right to argue against him. Instead she nodded without any words and wondered whether she was acting too much with this. Maybe they should have argued about this, but she hadn't felt that he would get hurt by this. Then again, Kuon was a very very complicated person.

Kyoko huffed. Maybe all she needed to do was create a persona herself, then both Kuon and MAZE would have some Kyoko in their lives.

…..

…..

Kyoko was worried, it had been two hours since she had last seen Kuon and she had attempted to contact him but he hadn't contacted her back. She was starting to get worried. She had thought that he would have realized she was smart enough to figure this out and that she wasn't cheating on him. She thought that he would laugh and ask her how she had figured it out to which it was very obvious.

She had really been hoping for a good day with her husband's arm wrapped around her. This hadn't happened. Kyoko sighed and sat with her phone. Was it too late to call Moko? She glanced up at her clock and decided to chance it, sometimes Moko stayed up late as well.

She waited with the phone to her ear and smiled as there was a response on the other end

"Mo, what do you want?" Kanae sighed as Kyoko smiled weakly.

"Moko!" Kyoko said sadly, "Kuon came to surprise me at work today and I think I may have messed things up," she sniffed. She was scared that she had started something that would result in the end of their marriage. She really didn't want that.

"First of all, how are you doing, Kanae? Good. How are you doing Kyoko?" she asked as Kyoko sighed.

"I'm sorry Moko, it's just that I may have upset him. I showed him the notebook with the heart in it and said that I loved him _too_ ," Kyoko closed her eyes as she held to her Corn stone. He couldn't be that sensitive, right? Kyoko knew she had married a man with a lot of baggage, but they both did. They both helped the other by supporting and loving them. She sighed and wrapped an arm around herself.

"This is what I warned you about when you married him. A guy who has been through so much he had to run away to a foreign country and change his name has a lot of mental problems that he has to deal with," Kanae commented and Kyoko rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't say that he's mentally ill…although he does get depressed. Maybe I did too much?" she asked as started pacing around the room. She should have just let him explain himself to her, maybe the explanation would be better than she thought or at least it would have cleared up some questions. She looked down and wrapped her arm around herself.

She heard a knock on the door and closed her eyes, she really wanted that to be Kuon.

"Moko, I have to go, there's someone…" Kyoko quickly tried to explain.

"Fine," Kanae sighed, "but you are not to beg or grovel to him, you stand your ground," she said before hanging up after saying goodbye.

Kyoko took a deep breath in before going to the door and spotting the 'MAZE' character that Kuon had created. "Uh…" she said before 'MAZE' looked up.

"You that actress Kyoko?" he asked before offering his hand, "I'm MAZE, nice to meet you."

Kyoko had to hold back her excitement, did he actually think she thought this was someone different? Well, she would willingly play along.

"Nice to meet you, MAZE" she giggled, "I'm such a huge fan."

' _Okay Kuon, bring it on'_ Kyoko thought inside as she looked at the man in front of her.

This would be fun.


	6. Chapter 6 - Lost and Confused

**Chapter Six – Lost and Confused**

Kyoko Hizuri wasn't sure whether she was on a date in London.

She didn't know whether this would be considered cheating on her husband. After all, she was in London on a date with the famous singer MAZE who was actually Kuon in disguise. She also wasn't even sure if this _was_ a date. She had been blind to so much already.

Originally she wasn't sure who this man was and then she had searched him up on the internet only to find out that he was actually her husband. That might mean that she was blind as to whether this mysterious guy…or rather her husband acting in a rather mysterious manner, intended this to be a date or not.

It was too confusing already.

"So," Kyoko said as she looked at the silver hair wondering how he could have changed that so fast? "You wanted me to show you London because we…both work for LME?" she asked wanting to get the story that he told her straight.

Did he actually believe for any duration that she was being fooled by this? It was so obvious that everything was orchestrated and if it hadn't been planned out by a guy who had too much shakiness in his self-confidence and too much time on his hands, that the events would be strange.

It had taken her time to see that the confident Ren Tsuruga was an act and that Kuon, and even Ren before she had learned who he really was, had a dark side that troubled him. Due to his interactions with celebrities his entire life, he had formed a shell around himself and could act as if he was more mature and with a higher sense of class than a person off the street, but Kuon was sensitive. That sensitivity was showing itself as random jealousy at this point.

Was Kuon jealous of himself? Maybe if he took some time to step back from what was happening and actually consider what was going on around him then things would be better. As they were at the present, Kyoko was just trying to catch up to her husband.

Maybe she should call Kuon's cellphone and see what happened. Would it ring? Would he take the call in front of her? Would he use some kind of lie to cover up the fact that his phone was ringing and she was on the other end?

"You okay?" MAZE asked her as Kyoko blinked.

"Yeah," she shrugged, "Sure, yes, I'm okay," she nodded as she looked at him confused. She hadn't realized that they had stopped at the corner of the street and that she hadn't been paying attention. She wasn't sure _what_ he was going to say to her. "Why?"

"Cause ya been dreaming," he said as he let his fingers slip through her hair.

Kyoko looked at him, his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses now. It was only a moment later when she realized that he had been touching her in a very intimate manner. She grabbed his hand but he placed it against her cheek. She liked how it felt there but she liked how it felt _every time_ it was there. Kuon always had a way of keeping her calm and making her happy and all it took was a gentle touch.

Then again, this was Kuon pretending not to be Kuon, she shouldn't react so happily to him touching her in this manner. She stopped and took a deep breath in. "I…didn't mean to do that," she said as he laughed. Kyoko tried to listen to how the laugh was, this was a difference between MAZE and Kuon. If she focused on that she might be able to act along with this.

"Well ya gorgeous, I'll say thats much" MAZE said as he slowly leaned down to kiss her.

At this point Kyoko had sorted out her thoughts enough that she could pull away from her husband who was pretending not to be her husband. She looked down. Maybe if she cried she could stop Kuon acting this way, it was a dirty trick but he always stopped whatever he was doing when she cried and tried to make her feel better. She saw MAZE's body shift, "What is it, What's wrong?" he asked as Kyoko sniffed dramatically.

"I don't want to kiss you," she said as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "I love your music MAZE and I really would like to get to know you better, but I love my husband. I want to be loyal to my husband."

Kyoko saw MAZE's mouth open but then was distracted as she saw a camera flash. Was that on her or was it just a tourist? She couldn't figure out why anyone would be taking their pictures. Sure, some Westerners could easily recognize Kuon from the international movies he had done, but this wasn't Kuon…or really it was 'MAZE'. She didn't consider herself recognizable at all.

It was that photographer that distracted her so much that she didn't listen to the words that MAZE was saying.

"Ya husband's a piece of crap. Guy would be betta off dead," he said hoping to get some kind of violent reaction from that.

Kyoko meanwhile was absent mindedly thinking about the person who might have just taken their pictures. She didn't want to be the one who blew Kuon's disguise despite how angry she was at him. She also didn't want people to think that just because she went to a foreign country that she was a loose woman.

"Sure, yes, my thoughts as well," she said and due to the sunglasses she wasn't able to see the shock. She hadn't heard any of the words in that question but she wouldn't have expected Kuon to say something like that given his own past and how much the idea of being responsible or even joking about death hurt him.

"Glad ya tink so," MAZE nodded, "So what about you and me grab something to eat and snuggle up…"

Kyoko raised an eyebrow. What was Kuon's game plan now? Was he really going to try to lure her in and prove that she would have sex with another man. No. Even if something happened and her husband developed a split personality, she would stay loyal to him. That was just one of the things that made her…her.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Seems like you'll need to explore London by yourself," she smiled before bowing and walking off.

She had to get to the bottom of this. She had to find some way of convincing Kuon to tell her straight who he really was whilst at the same time playing around with him the same way that he seemed to be playing around with her.

Kyoko sighed, at least she could take a walk.

….

….

About half an hour later, Kyoko was waiting at one of the parks in the city and just watching the people surrounding her. She didn't know what to do, but this thing with Kuon was making her very uncomfortable. She had always felt that him having different personalities and different characters not only helped conceal the fact that he was the son of Kuu HIzuri, but it would also be calming and therapeutic for him.

She could understand the desire to transform oneself and that by doing so, a person would feel a sense of strength and knowledge about themselves. She knew that they could feel as if they were flourishing in life.

After knowing about Kuon's past, Ren seemed a logical step in his survival. In fact becoming Ren was much more than becoming a character for the sake of acting, it was finding a way for him to survive. Was he really depressed or hurt about something so much as to form MAZE. Or maybe he really did want to torment her. Long ago she had put away her thoughts about Ren treating her like a chess piece in a game but maybe she had just become blind to that.

She sighed. No, Corn wouldn't do that and Kuon was Corn as well.

Too many times had he felt alone or scared as a child, he had seen too much danger and he had always remained as someone who was willing to help her. No, this wasn't something he was doing to torture her but then why had he acted that way.

She sighed and then heard her phone ring, she waited for it to ring twice before answering it. Happy to see that Kuon was finally calling her.

She answered it with a soft smile, "Hi, my sweet Corn, did you finish what you needed to do? Do you want to perhaps meet me at the park?"

She needed some time to think this over. Her thoughts were all crashing in on each other but, unlike her old self, she had managed to store away the anger and frustration that she had and concentrate on the concern and love she felt towards this somewhat stupid actor.

"Kyoko, I think we need to talk," Kuon said and Kyoko felt a chill through her body.

She wanted to yell at him and tell him that he was the person who had initiated a scenario which felt oddly like a date. He was the one who had been a character and dared himself to touch her. Did he really think that she was blind to it all and that she wouldn't let her husband touch her in any character. He was the only one who she enjoyed touching her.

Now he was angry? Well, what was she supposed to do if he was going to treat her like that?

"Talk about what?" she tried to ask innocently. She looked down and felt her heart start to twist up as she listened to him speak.

"Maybe we need a break in our relationship, maybe since you're away it might be time for me to return to Japan and then we can figure things out when you get back," he said as Kyoko created a fist. She felt little sparks of anger shoot out of her and scare away some of the birds as well as some of the people who were walking past her. She shook her head.

"You idiot, I know," she said as he didn't stop and Kyoko felt her heart twist more.

"So you're saying that you do know that we need a break. You know that all I want is for you to be happy," he told her as Kyoko nearly broke the bench she was sitting on with how fast her hand came down and struck it. She needed to find her husband and yell at him.

He was causing all of this to happen.

"I don't want a break from you, Kuon. I love you and I miss you. Every day I wake up missing you but you said it was alright to come over here. You said that you supported my dreams. Now I know that you don't really support me, you don't even trust me so…" Kyoko looked up at the people staring at her. She didn't care, it wasn't as if the majority of these people or any of them really knew Japanese. She should consider herself safe.

"You seem to be interested in other things right now," Kuon said. "I mean, you said that MAZE was really important to you," he told her as Kyoko frowned. What kind of game was he attempting to play now?

"MAZE is important to me, but so are you Kuon in fact all of you are important to me. I'd much rather be with my husband though. The _Kuon Hizuri_ that I fell in love with and married, but if you need to be someone else then…" she closed her eyes. "Please don't leave," she begged.

Kuon stood in front of her, his outfit completely different and his hair covered by a hat. Was he serious with this? Did he take her as that big an idiot.

"In that case, we need to talk," he said as Kyoko almost screamed inside of her head.

What the heck was she supposed to do now?


	7. Chapter 7 - Fangirl

**AN:** Happy Tuesday Everyone! I've been reading reviews and have decided to go in a slightly but all that different new direction with this story 😊 I really hope that you guys read along and enjoy.

 **Chapter Seven – Fan Girl**

To say that Kyoko Hizuri was annoyed was an understatement.

She knew that her husband had problems and she had married him willingly with that knowledge. She knew that he sometimes let the strangest things upset him and that he always had some hidden meaning behind his words. She was sick of the game though, she really did not want to play anymore and maybe it was just best to yell at him.

Kyoko shot Kuon a glare which made him take a step back. She knew that she had only glared at him a couple of times since he had started being completely Kuon. Ren had gotten used to it though. Maybe she was seeing more Ren in him right now.

"Before you say anything," Kyoko muttered as she looked away, "I need to talk."

"Kyo-" Kuon said before Kyoko gave a firm look up at him.

"I don't know everything in the world, Kuon. I don't know how to do calculus equations in my head. I don't know all the properties of the scientific table. I do however know _you_ and I need you to listen to me." She said before taking a deep breath in as an attempt to calm down. "You're MAZE."

Kuon paused as he looked at her and was about to open his mouth before catching her stern look.

"I didn't know it at first. I didn't think you could sing, actually I remember that years ago when I was with Shoutaro, that I would go around telling people that you weren't a singer and that your brain was too small to remember any lyrics. As time went by, I started to see who you were and because you were confident doing your own stunts and were able to learn the piano, I started thinking that the reason that I hadn't heard you sing was because you were terrible at it," she sighed and looked down, trying to catch the tears away as he stood there guiltily.

"I didn't know when the music had come out, but it was when I was in my flat here that I managed to search up online for 'MAZE' but I spelled it wrong. I put an I in it and then I realized that it was another word for Corn. I just…"

Kuon looked at her weakly, "Kyoko, I'm really sorry, I…" he wanted to wrap his arms around his wife and help her feel better but being the cause of her tears made this much harder for him. "Why…"

"Kuon, I might not know the exact thoughts that go through your head, but I have learned what your characters, especially Ren, mean to you. They are part of your escape, a way not to show your entire being and I understand that. When I get into a character sometimes I feel safer than when I remain as Kyoko. I wanted to pretend and go along with MAZE until you told me what had happened. That's why I've been trying to be a fangirl, I wanted you to feel guilty about lying to me. I don't care who else you may need to lie to, Kuon, but not to me." Kyoko tried to stop her tears but felt relieved when she was swept up in Kuon's arms. She gripped to him and allowed him to help her through her tears.

"Kyoko, I am really sorry, I've been a complete asshole to you," he apologized as he held her close. "Is there anything that I can do to apologize for this or anything that…"

"I want to be MAZE's fangirl," Kyoko said as Kuon blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe part of his crew," she tried to explain as Kuon gave a faint smile. He nodded slowly whilst not truly knowing what she was talking about.

"So you want to just come along with me when I record?" he asked as Kyoko laughed and shook her head, her head bowed which made it so Kuon couldn't see her soft grin, a very cute one at that.

"I want to play a role too. We had so much fun when we were acting out the Heel siblings, I think that this will be a lot of fun as well," Kyoko said as she saw Kuon's weak smile. "I'll create a character to go along with MAZE and then we can work on this together. Whatever you're going through, I just want to help," Kyoko admitted as Kuon paused. He was unsure whether or not to tell her the root of MAZE but with her as upset as she was, he didn't want to lie to her again.

"Kyoko, I really hate to tell you this," he said sincerely, "but I wanted to be MAZE and to sing because I was feeling bored. I wasn't feeling the passion in my life that I really do want to. You didn't do anything wrong and I don't think that…" Kyoko looked at him and nodded as if she was understanding something that he didn't realize he was saying.

"Thank you for all the time you've given me so far," she said as Kuon blinked in confusion. "You weren't feeling motivated because you've wanted to work and live in the US for such a long time and you haven't done that because you were waiting for me to be ready. I'm really grateful," she smiled as Kuon had that look of even more guilt on his face. "So, I would like to be MAZE's head cheerleader and maybe you could even teach me how to sing."

Kuon nodded, "Sure, I can try that, but are you sure that you want to be my fangirl, can't we just say that you're my girlfriend."

Kyoko laughed, "Can I act as overprotective and overly loving of MAZE as Setsu was of Cain. I couldn't possibly let another woman close to MAZE because of how much I love him," she said as Kuon nodded.

"If that's what you feel is best then we can work on a disguise together," he offered and Kyoko smiled.

They didn't need to take a break that could lead to a divorce and she could see him perform, hear him speak in his Californian accent. It was too exciting. Maybe though she should focus on what her role was for this project and perfect the girlfriend character for when she returned to Japan.

Whilst doing so, she would see the easiest way of getting her and Kuon on the track to living in The United States. She had married him knowing that he had always had plans of returning there and she could be happy anywhere as long as she had access to his warm embrace.

"So," Kyoko tried to smile despite the number of tears she had let flow, "Do I get to show my husband around London now without any tricks."

"No more tricks," Kuon said as he kissed her passionately and she smiled back at him.

Her husband was an idiot, but he was an idiot that she could handle.

….

….

Kyoko stretched out her arms as she stood on a bridge looking out at the Thames. She had wanted to show Kuon the place where you could see the best sunset in London. She knew how big a fan of nature her husband was and she wanted to share with him every experience possible. She grinned as she saw him looking out at the world around them and then paused as she caught the sadness in his eyes that he probably wouldn't show her naturally.

She hummed, trying to decide whether to comment on it or not.

"You know," she said with a grin, "I think people would buy Hizuri Kuon CDs by the dozen," she said honestly as she walked over to him and let herself hold onto his arm. Was there something behind MAZE other than boredom?

She had had thoughts about Kuon perhaps suffering from a depression since she had seen him as Bo in that hallway. Listening to the way that he said certain things and the way that his past haunted him allowed her to make sense of Ren. Then when she had learned who he really was, she seemed to understand the _need_ to be Ren. Maybe there was a similar need to be MAZE.

"What is it?" she said softly, looking up at him concerned. "Should I have continued to pretend not to have known anything?" she asked and Kuon laughed and shook his head.

"No, it's fine. They're just thoughts," he told her before he started to speak in English, " **I mean, I really don't want to talk about those kind of things. It's…"** he saw Kyoko's annoyed expression as she tapped her foot and he guiltily turned to her. She was annoyed at him now. Had he really done something that would have pissed her off?

" **You do know I am speaking English in my acting role. You should tell me what is wrong, Corn, because now everyone around can hear."** Kyoko looked up at him sadly. She had always seen him smile at a sunset and now he was looking at it as if it were some plant that was dying and would never be able to be revived with just water.

Kyoko saw the fake smile and sighed. As much as she loved him, sometimes the only way she could think of working with Kuon would be to smack his head against something hard and tell him that she needed him to tell her the truth.

" **Do you like Kuon?"** he asked her as Kyoko felt herself knocked back a little at that question. Was that the need for MAZE? She knew it had taken years for Ren to accept that he was Kuon and not really Ren, though he did readily admit that many things were the same in both of them.

Before she could answer properly, they were mobbed by a couple of Japanese tourists and she took Kuon's hand in her own as she saw him use his gentleman's smile towards them.

"Oh my gosh! You're Kuon and Kyoko aren't you?" one of the girls said as Kyoko looked up at her husband but decided to speak first.

"Yes, we were just enjoying some time looking at the sunset," she said as both girls dropped down into low bows. "Is there…"

"Can we get your autograph or a photo of the four of us?" the second girl asked as Kyoko turned back to see if her husband was okay with doing that. He had just asked her a very serious and very complicated question and they were bombarded before she could give him the answer that she loved him unconditionally.

"Sure," Kyoko smiled as she held to Kuon's hand giving it a light squeeze. She hadn't meant to make him upset just by telling him that she was angry at him. She really wanted to be MAZE's groupie and she hoped that Kuon would be alright with that. It was always more fun to do things as a couple or at least she had felt so.

Once the photographs were taken and the excited girls walked away, Kyoko looked back at the man she loved. She reached up and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"More than anything," she said as she smiled seeing that he was slightly happier having heard that. Kyoko felt her heart ache. "Come on, I have more places to show you," she said as he looked at her and tried to smile too, the guilt in his heart of having deceived her when he could have just told her from the beginning. He had lied to his wife and he didn't think he should be forgiven that easily.

….

 **AN 2:**

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this fic in the past and a special thank you to: Crazy4Animation, DreamIdol, and ladygraywolf for reviewing the last chapter 😊


	8. Chapter 8 - Very Significant Others

**AN:** Hope you enjoy this chapter 😊 I also hope you like my idea of the kind of girl that MAZE would be dating. As always thank you for the support

 **Chapter Eight – Very Significant Others**

Kyoko smiled thoughtfully as she was given the final okay for her scene. The production was moving along so well that it might only be a couple of weeks until she was able to come home with Kuon and help him with his new singing career. It was still hard to think about him singing and it was a shame that London didn't have as many karaoke places as Japan did. She would have eagerly booked a room for the two of them just to watch and hear him sing.

Kyoko smiled as she went to her locker room and was surprised to see a couple of girls from the crew standing there. Two of them were from the hair and makeup and then one of them was a writer. She felt a little nervous.

Had she made a mistake that the director hadn't caught?

Had she said a line wrong or with the wrong emphasis placed on the word?

Dropping into a bow, Kyoko looked down. "I'm sorry if my English is affecting…" she apologized before the girls giggled and one of the women reached out to place a hand on Kyoko's shoulder.

"That blond yesterday, is he a friend of yours?" the writer asked hopefully as Kyoko smiled as she thought about Kuon.

"He's my husband, he came to visit me here –" Kyoko said as she smiled happily.

"Aww, shoot," one of the hair stylists said with a teasing grin, she tucked a strand of her own blonde hair behind her ear. "He was really good looking. I was going to ask you for his number."

"Did he come for Valentines Day?" the second hair stylist smiled, "That is so sweet of him. Wish I had a guy like that."

Kyoko placed a hand on the back of her neck and smiled. Why was it that on every continent people would ask her about Kuon? These women wanted to go out with him when really, Kyoko knew that Kuon only looked at her and treated her in the way that made her feel like she was a princess of a fairytale kingdom. As many flaws as he definitely did have, Kyoko felt lucky that he was so loyal to her and proved day after day his love for her.

"His birthday is the day after tomorrow," Kyoko tried to explain. "I want to celebrate it with him every year, this year I was a little scared that I wouldn't be able to."

"How long have you two been together? He looks soooo foreign and has a cute American accent," the blonde said.

Kyoko looked down, "We first met when I was six, but we've only known each other properly since I was sixteen. We started dating when I turned eighteen," she tried to explain. Her eyes lit up as she saw the man in question walking towards them with a gift bag from a famous jewelry company.

"Are you telling people about us?" he smiled as Kyoko got excited hearing the Californian accent. Whenever they would travel to an English-speaking country, she never tired of hearing it. She would have to remember to get him to speak more English when they returned to Japan.

"Of course I am," Kyoko grinned as she went over to kiss him and let his arms wrap around her before slowly letting her go. Kyoko gestured back to the three women. "This is my husband, Kuon Hizuri, he's a very famous actor in Japan and has done some international movies as well. Kuon, this is Amanda and Rebecca who are in the hair and makeup department, this is Ashley who is one of our writers."

Kuon reached out his hand with his dazzling smile, "It's nice to meet you. I really am thankful for all the hard work people in your positions do. I once had a scar that took about two hours to get put on every time I would shoot a scene."

Kyoko smiled as she thought about Mio and how long that process had taken before she had become used to it.

"Oh, that really does sound like something I've gone through, but it was good that the lad was right good looking," Amanda, the blonde, said as Kuon nodded.

"I wish I had a man who bought me jewelry," Rebecca said as she eyed the bag. "You're one lucky girl, Kyoko."

"I'm lucky to have Kuon in my life with or without jewelry," Kyoko said as she took her husband's hand and grinned up at him.

"So, sorry if this is a bit rude to ask," Rebecca said, "but the name Kuon, not exactly an American name, is it."

Kuon shook his head, "I'm only half American. I'm one quarter Japanese and one quarter Russian," he said as Kyoko looked down. She always forgot that he had Russian blood in him, Julienna might hunt her down if she ever admitted that to her. "I can speak Russian and Japanese as well. I also know Spanish, Italian, French, and a few phrases in Mandarin, Tagalog, and Korean."

"So, that's where you get your good looks," Amanda smiled. "Well you've got a keeper there, Kyoko." She winked, "See you tomorrow, nice meeting you, Kuon."

Kyoko smiled as she saw her husband politely say goodbye to them. She opened the door to her dressing room and smoothly pushed him back so they could enter. "Why do you always attract these women?" she asked as Kuon blinked.

"I honestly don't try to do so," he said with a weak smile as Kyoko kissed him again. "You do realize that you're the only girl that I've ever truly loved, don't you?"

"Oh, is that what you told Bo?" Kyoko winked at him and Kuon laughed.

"I told Bo a lot of things, that rooster questioned me a lot. It was almost as if he were spying on me," he grinned as Kyoko started getting changed, she washed the makeup off her face and then reapplied a light coating of her own.

"Are you doing anything this afternoon?" she asked since Kuon had been visiting contacts that he had made over the years in this area. "I thought that it might be a good idea for us to look for MAZE's girlfriend's getup," she said as Kuon smiled.

"How much input am I allowed to give here?" Kuon asked with a smile as Kyoko hummed.

"I'll let you carry my bags," she joked. She started to take off her shirt, glad that Kuon was the only man she felt comfortable undressing in front of otherwise she would have stayed in the shirt for years until he left. "I want to create her by myself but I don't want to create someone who will clash with MAZE or embarrass him so I want creative say but tell me if it's too much or too little."

Kyoko walked over to her husband, only wearing her bra and panties, "After all, I am a blank slate and…" she placed a hand down on Kuon's lap and gave him a teasing frown. "I should put some more clothes on before talking to you about this," she smiled glad that her husband obviously found her attractive.

"Okay," Kuon nodded, "We'll figure it out together later today."

…..

…..

Kyoko smiled at Kuon as they stood in the clothing store, around her neck was the gift that Kuon had found for her. It was a gold necklace that had a little golden fairy at the end of it. It looked like an antique but was made of new materials and very beautiful. Kyoko loved that her husband knew her so well.

"So, I think that MAZE is a guy who likes girls in leather jackets, right?" she asked as Kuon smiled at her.

"MAZE doesn't have much of an identity yet, aside from wearing hoodies and loving to include musical solos in his work," Kuon nodded, "but he is also flexible in how he appears. He's just starting off after all."

Kyoko nodded, "but it feels that he is a visual kei artist or maybe someone who can produce a little softer and more gentle work, but he still seems as if he has an edge to him," Kyoko smiled as she found a leather jacket that also had a hood on it. It had a good, sleek design and had buttons and a zip with lions on it.

"How about this?" she asked and Kuon smiled at it.

He held it before nodding, "It's good and the material's not too thin," he said as Kyoko looked at him.

"Come on, Kuon, we _both_ know that you're not afraid of seeing a woman's body," she teased him. "Especially your wife's…unless you're scared that MAZE might give into his jealousy." Kyoko looked at him and saw that dazzling smile.

"It's not about jealousy…this time," he added quickly as Kyoko blinked. She knew that her husband had a jealous and protective side when it came to her, she didn't believe he wouldn't worry about her if she wore something that would accidentally lead guys on. "I'm more worried about you picking something that you'll freeze in," he admitted.

Kyoko smiled as she heard that, she felt the fabric again. "No, it's good and it's not going to wear out easily," she tried to take it back but Kuon was holding onto it for her. "I can…"

"I'm treating you to this so let me carry it," he smiled to her as Kyoko shifted awkwardly.

"Well, your birthday is coming up and although I've already bought your gift. I don't want you to feel that you can't buy yourself something. MAZE needs some new outfits too," she tried to remind him. She sighed, when it came to her, Kuon was a lot like Cain was with Setsuka. He didn't spend too much money on himself but when it came to her, he treated her like a princess. The only thing that Kuon had really treated himself to were his cars over the years.

"MAZE will get new outfits, but that's not we're focusing on today," Kuon grinned to her and Kyoko nodded before her eyes lit up at some long-sleeved shirts in different stripes such as black and white and red and black. She put them together with the leather jacket. They looked good and paired nicely.

"Have you considered what to do with your hair?" Kuon asked as Kyoko set to picking out some black pants that she could add to the collection. She grinned as she found a pair that came with a belt that was designed to look like a cable.

Kyoko hummed as she thought over that question. She hadn't spent too much time thinking about how she could change her appearance by focusing on her hair but she did like the idea of contacts. Maybe if she even had some purple colored contacts and used makeup so her skin looked paler than usual it would work. She needed to pick a hair color that would look good.

"I'm thinking something short and blue," she said as she touched the back of her neck. "Maybe some punk style or a range of blues. I mean, MAZE has silver hair, he could definitely have that type of girlfriend. Maybe even a lip ring," she thought to herself.

"What shade of blue?" Kuon asked as Kyoko smiled as she thought about the way that she and Corn had been as children and he had told her that the stone would take away her sadness if she tried to send the sadness to it. She then looked at her wedding ring and felt confidence in her decision.

"The same color that I think of every time I remember how lucky I am that you're my husband, Corn" she told him as he smiled.

Hopefully this would work out well.

…..

 **AN:** Thank you to all who have supported this fic and a special shout out to:

Crazy4Animation, DreamIdol, KetriaTM, and Michiyo for all reviewing the previous chapter 😊


	9. Chapter 9 - Mina Ta

**AN:** Sorry that it took so long to write this. I really hope that you enjoy it. Thank you for all of your support 😊

 **Chapter Nine – Mina Ta**

Kyoko smiled at her husband as he lay in the bed in her flat. She was glad that he had come back here with her, it would have been impossible for her to sleep well without him there. Finally they were on the same page, but she strangely felt distant from him still. She was still perfecting the perfect girlfriend for MAZE, but it was his feelings about the US which was causing her to feel doubt.

She was acting in an international project now, surely she could learn how to find jobs in America and be a full time actress there as well. Then again, wasn't America a little too preoccupied with the white actor to really view her as anything other than another Japanese worker.

She had thought about living there full time, but she hadn't been comfortable with the idea. Then again, Kuon had been living in Japan for such a long time. He was a foreigner in Japan and she had found out that he didn't even have citizenship and that he had a work visa that the president had arranged for him. It was a shame that Japan didn't allow dual citizenship even when The United States did.

"Corn," she asked as he hummed in response, "Do you feel like an alien when it comes to Japan?" she asked him, turning in her chair to face him.

"I've felt like an alien everywhere," he replied to her. "I've never really felt that home was a place, at least I've never felt as if I've had a home since I was about twelve years old."

Kyoko frowned. She hadn't thought that she'd hear that, she definitely hadn't _wanted_ to hear that. "So, you don't feel that our apartment is a home?" she said as Kuon looked at her. He watched her wanting to do something to comfort her but he didn't know if words would be enough to accomplish that.

"My home is with you," he said knowing it might be a little cheesy, "I mean, when I'm with you, Kyoko, it doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing. You give me the same support and love and encouragement that a home does. When I'm without you, even if I'm in our apartment, I just don't feel that I'm connected to anything. Does that make sense?"

Kyoko grinned and smiled happily. She went over to the bed and slipped in so that she could be at her husband's side. "It makes perfect sense," she said as she rested her head against his chest. "I feel the same way. I always have ever since I fell in love with you." She looked at him, "I hope I'm not too plain or boring for you?" she asked as Kuon raised an eyebrow.

"You could _never_ be plain and boring to me," he told her as he let his fingers slip through her hair. "I can't believe that I ever disliked you even for a moment."

"Well, I didn't like you either," Kyoko grinned as she kissed his lips and pulled back with a smile, "but I'm more than happy to admit my mistakes." She placed a hand on his cheek, playing with the blond strands near her fingertips. "So, why did you start singing in the first place?" she asked. "I didn't see you as MAZE because I didn't know that singing was something you were passionate about. You could have told me though, I would have helped you with your alter ego. It would have been a lot of fun."

Kuon nodded, "I think it would have, but I never planned for this to happen. I was bored. I spent so many years as Ren Tsuruga, I suppose part of my fear was of being _just_ Kuon Hizuri. There have been a lot of times when I've really disliked Kuon."

"Idiot," Kyoko laughed as he pulled her closer to him. "You've never given Kuon the full appreciation that he deserves. If it wasn't for you then I would have never chosen to give myself up to my love. We might fight and sometimes I might get frustrated by you, but even when I'm at my worst you're there for me. We're there for each other. I'm thrilled that I get to spend your birthday with you. I get to celebrate another year of Kuon Hizuri's existence."

"You're too good for me," Kuon grinned and laughed as Kyoko pushed a hand to his chest so that she could lean over him.

"True," she smiled playfully, "but don't even think of getting away from me." She played with his hair a little more. "You know, when I first got to know Ren I thought he was extremely mature, one of the most mature people that I had ever met. When I thought I had met Corn for the second time in Guam, I couldn't help but notice the childishness and playfulness that he had. You, Kuon, have both of those sides and I get to experience it all as your wife. Plus, I get special permission to do this," she said as she leaned in for another passionate kiss.

"You have special permission to do a lot of things," Kuon said with one of his blinding smiles. "Thank you though, for forgiving me so naturally. I don't think I would forgive me so easily."

"Well," Kyoko said as she lay down next to him again, "When have you ever forgiven yourself _easily_?" she asked. She looked over at the different clothes and the long wig with the different shades of blue that they had purchased that day. She wanted to make sure it was alright with him that she could be MAZE's girlfriend. She worried that she had pushed herself to get involved and that he would get annoyed by her.

"So, MAZE is alright with Mina being his girlfriend?" she asked as she gazed into those emerald eyes that always kept her captivated.

"MAZE is very proud of Mina Ta and their relationship," Kuon grinned as he sat up but pulled Kyoko into his lap. "I still can't believe you're going with the name Mina Ta," he laughed and Kyoko gave him a playful smile. She felt her body relax as he held her, her breaths slowed and she kept thinking of the warmth and protection that came so easily from being with Kuon.

"I thought that it would be clever," she told him, "You know, because as well as maize being another word for corn, a maze can also be a labyrinth and a minotaur is the fabled creature who lives in the labyrinth. The minotaur is almost the protector of the maze and I want to be the protector of _my MAZE_."

"I think you're a _maz_ ing," Kuon laughed as Kyoko almost fell asleep with him holding her. "So, I want to encourage one of your hidden passions, what is something that you've always wanted to do?" he asked her as Kyoko yawned.

"Be with my husband," she told him. "Make sure that he feels as loved and special as I know he is. I want him to have the best birthday ever and I want to tell those members of the crew that they can't have him despite all those comments they made about his sex appeal."

Kuon rolled his eyes, "My body is private property," he said, "restricted access. Only one other person is allowed to visit and anything else is trespassing."

"I know," Kyoko said, "VIP access is very important to me. I bet if you got sick now and I dressed you in your pajamas you'd thank me."

"Of course I would," Kuon said as he made sure that Kyoko was covered with the duvet. He looked out into the residence as she fell asleep. Hopefully one day he would be worthy of her.

…..

…..

The next day, Kyoko stood facing the mirror as she tried on the wig. She had already been in contact with the president and he was going to release pictures of MAZE with and without Mina. She just needed to be ready to have those photographs taken of her. She didn't want to be an embarrassment to her husband.

At the current time, she stood with the blue wig flowing down to her waist. She had on a black skull cap and black and blue striped shirt with tight black pants with a few zips on them. She had even used a mix of black and blue makeup products to give her a different image. She was very happy with the results.

"Yo, you keep your eyes off my guy," she said as she experimented with different voices before blushing. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to pull Mina off, especially when she had to try to show the obsession she had with MAZE. Maybe if she saw MAZE she could act differently. Plus, she already knew she had a possessiveness with the way _some_ girls treated Kuon.

That time when he had been waiting for her and that group of Japanese women had approached him and pretended to ask simple questions whilst faking it that they didn't know who he was. Although who in Tokyo didn't know the emerald eyed, blond haired, long legged, top actor. It wasn't as if he blended in any longer. He had had trouble blending in as Ren Tsuruga, as Kuon Hizuri _everyone_ noticed him.

Yet, he had tried to be polite and courteous and those women had tried to take advantage of his kindness. Kyoko had put a stop to that. She wasn't going to let anyone try to manipulate _her Kuon_.

"You look good," a voice behind her said and Kyoko looked into the mirror to see a silver haired MAZE wearing a signature hoody although this one had a skull and crossbones on it. She then looked down at his own tight pants and pretended to check out something behind him to sneak a peek at how his ass looked in the pants. She blushed again with a secret smile. She was _very_ lucky.

"MAZE," Mina commented, "You are a fiiine piece of action yourself," she turned and flung her arms around him. "That's why you're mine. Nobody else can have you," she looked up at his face and her eyes took in the fact that he had put on eyeliner and had a fake piercing on his lip. She didn't know whether to laugh or not, it was strange but she really liked it.

"That's because nobody else can have you," MAZE said protectively and Kyoko had to admit that she loved the possessiveness that MAZE had over her in return. "I might have to lock you up, Mina. I mean, how can I let anyone else even dare to come close to the woman who I love more than life itself," he placed a hand to his chest. "I mean, even the thought of not being able to do this," he pulled her close to his chest, "fills me with so much fear that I might lose my muse, my magic. Ah, the soul of the tortured artist."

"Well, that kind of torture is something that I'm going to have to cure," Mina leaned up to leave a few kisses on his lips and neck. Breaking character for a moment, Kyoko looked at her husband, watching him intently. "Kuon, is that true?" she asked, "that I'm your muse."

Kuon grinned, "Not just in this, but you're my inspiration, my motivation, my reason to live."

"I'm so thankful for that," Kyoko said as she flung her arms around his neck again and delighted in how close he pulled her towards him. "I never want you to ever find someone else to take my place."

"Never," he promised her. "You are everything that I need. You are everything that I will ever need. My princess Kyoko, my minotaur," he said as she let her head press into his warm and supportive chest.

 **AN2:**

Thank you to **Crazy4Animation, DreamIdol** , and **paulagato** for reviewing the previous chapter 😊


	10. Chapter 10 - Birthday Gift

**AN:** Hope you enjoy this chapter 😊 I had a lot of fun working on it.

 **Chapter Ten – Birthday Gift**

Kyoko grinned as she watched her husband sleep. She always treasured these moments when she would wake up before Kuon and she could just admire him and take pleasure in the fact that she had allowed herself to fall completely in love with her Corn. She let her fingers roam his golden hair as the sun made the yellow color shine even more.

This was _his_ birthday. She could celebrate another year in the life of Kuon Hizuri and she could celebrate it beside him.

He was always treating her and she just hoped that she could treat him in the same way and make him feel as special and important as he always made her feel. She slowly and softly placed a kiss on his forehead wondering if that was enough to wake him up. She giggled as she saw those emerald eyes open and in the sunlight turn to the sienna that she always tried to catch a glimpse at.

He turned to her with a grin and reached out, letting his fingers slip her hair behind her ear. "Morning, my princess," he told her as Kyoko kissed him a few times on the lips and smiled lovingly at him.

"Happy birthday, my prince," she said warmly. "You wait right there, I'm going to make you breakfast," she saw a slight flash of fear in his eyes as if he was expecting her to go overboard. Didn't he know her by now or was there still some strange trust issue when it came to food preparation. "Don't worry, I won't make too much. I was thinking that if we have a light breakfast and a snack for lunch, I can spoil you when it comes to dinner, that way you'll actually want to eat dinner with me."

"I always want to eat dinner with you," Kuon laughed as he gazed upon her.

"Yes, but you say that because of the company and not because of the food. Today I really want for you to experience enjoyment in both," she let her hand run down the side of his cheek and then lifted her head as she thought about something. "Kuon, if it's alright to ask -"

"It's alright to ask me anything you want at any time," Kuon interrupted her and Kyoko placed a finger on his lips to gesture for him to be quiet. She lifted it before asking her question.

"Is today MAZE's birthday as well?" she asked as Kuon shook his head with a laugh. "So, when is MAZE's birthday?" she asked, "That information wasn't provided to the public yet."

"It's October 31st," Kuon said as Kyoko rolled her eyes and then closed them. She sighed as a smile came across her lips.

"Of course it is," she said, "You do understand that all of this information is going to make people believe that MAZE isn't a real person."

Kuon chuckled, "If he was, he has a pretty stupid name," he admitted. "The idea of a stage name is that everything about it is fabricated apart from…well the president helped create Ren Tsuruga and because he didn't want me to be alone on my birthday or not have anyone wish me a happy birthday, he said that I was to use my actual birthday."

"I'm glad he did," Kyoko said, "I would have felt upset if your birthday went by every year that you were Ren Tsuruga without anyone caring. Plus, I think I prefer Kuon Hizuri and celebrating his birthday."

"Isn't that why you became Kyoko Hizuri," Kuon hummed and Kyoko kissed his cheek again.

"You just stay in bed whilst I make you breakfast," she said before a thought came to her. He could always make use of her first gift to him whilst she was in the middle of preparations. "I want to give you your first birthday gift," she smiled as she got off the bed and went to her bag. She picked up a square package and handed it to him.

Kuon smiled as he took it and then opened it to find that Kyoko had created a hardback book with a picture of them on the cover and the title that read: "Happy Birthday, My Kuon." He took a look inside and saw that there was a dedication on the front page.

 _To my Kuon,_

 _Kuon, I just wanted to make this book so you can always be reminded of how much I love you and how grateful I am for your existence. I love you the same way that I know you love me, unconditionally and without limitations. You make my world complete and every single day that I get to call you my husband is a day on which I feel strong, I feel safe, and I feel loved. I'm not afraid to say that though I was terrified of love when I met you the second time, I am proud of my love and keep our love in my heart always._

 _Again, I love you, your princess_

 _Kyoko_

Kuon smiled as he read those words and then read them again with a smile, "I love you," he told her before seeing her eager face for him to see what the book was. He opened it and grinned as he saw that each page had either one or two pictures of them as a couple or a picture of him and also a picture of them as a couple. These had all been taken over the past year and included things from magazines and still pictures from interviews they had both had together as well.

Either to the side, above, or underneath each picture, Kyoko had written one reason as to why she loved him so much that corresponded with what the picture showed. There were more than fifty pages and more than fifty reasons as to why Kyoko's love was so deep.

As he looked through the pages, Kuon turned to his princess. "Thank you," he said as she kissed his cheek.

"Any time you feel that Kuon Hizuri isn't worthy or any time that you feel sad or depressed about anything, I want you to take a look at that book and see that even if you have negative feelings about who you are or what you've been through in the past, I can't keep myself from loving you. You are my Corn. The MAZE to my Mina Ta," she said before stepping away from the bed. "I'll make you some hot tea and breakfast," she said as he looked after her.

This gift was one of the best that she had ever given to him and Kuon knew that as the years had gone by, Kyoko had developed a greater and greater understanding of him.

He heard his phone buzz with a text and smiled as he saw that his parents had wished him a happy birthday. He knew he should be grateful that his life was coming together right now, but he still had doubts about the future. However, he shouldn't let that bother him because as long as Kyoko was a part of what was to come, he could make it through.

…..

…..

Yashiro always knew that when Kuon's birthday came up, it was his duty to be able to locate a place to store the gifts, however usually Kuon would be in Japan and they could sort through them together. Sometimes there would be boxes that Kuon would take back to his apartment to look through later. Before Kyoko had helped him with his insecurities, Yashiro knew that he often felt guilty if he used one gift and not the others especially since he got so much chocolate for Valentines Day.

Kyoko had seen Kuon pick up something with a lot of interest and even check the tag and consider the lasting value of the piece before donating it. Only gifts from close friends and – once he was Kuon rather than Ren – family made the cut, but then she had told him that many fans might have given him the same gift and they would be beyond thrilled that Kuon had used or worn the item that they had given him in public.

He just had to say that he considered all of the gifts important and he wouldn't have offended anyone.

That just made everything even more complicated for the manager. Now things had to be stored. The chocolates were something else, Kuon rarely ate sweet foods and he _did_ only keep those from people he was close to. Kyoko usually made something for him so he would only keep a few confectionary things and those were from people who Yashiro had made a list for.

The chocolates along with anything that there was triple in quantity of would be given as an anonymous donation. The only donations that Kuon put his name on was money and that wasn't because he wanted acknowledgement, it was more that he wanted the charities and organizations to have peace of mind.

Then there was all the Valentine's items that MAZE had received. Somehow whilst Kuon got a lot of different varieties of chocolate, MAZE just got the darkest chocolate and he even had CDs and guitar picks and microphones sent to him. Surely some of these things would be useful. Well, to be honest, all of these items weren't really an annoyance, what they were, however, were items that couldn't be distributed or donated until Kuon was back from his trip.

Yashiro had wondered why Kuon had chosen to have another manager for MAZE until he had found out who he was. Of course, Kuu Hizuri would have a lot of fun with this and he had even offered to help pitch in with the work for Kuon. Yashiro didn't know whether to be offended or thankful. He admired Kuu and in turn he knew that Kuu loved his son and did everything out of that love, but it was getting to be very confusing without the main guy here.

It was whilst he was sorting things into boxes that Yashiro heard the door open and he saw Kanae Kotonami standing there. She was holding up a photo on her phone and Yashiro knew why she was doing so and why she had come to him as soon as she had seen it.

This was MAZE and Mina Ta.

Of course, she would have figured it out, but Kyoko had chosen a really cheesy name and she had styled herself in an over the top manner. Had he really expected anything different from her?

"I was told that I could find you in here, Yukihito," she said as Yashiro turned to her with a smile. He and Kanae had interacted several times but it was always with either Kuon or Kyoko present. He had known her outside of a professional environment though. "You let your client lie to his wife?" she asked.

Yashiro smiled before pointing, "Clearly that's Kyoko so I don't think…"

Kanae sighed, "Yes, I know that's Kyoko. I've been friends with her for a long time, but I don't think it's right that her husband is duping all of Japan because he wants to sing some songs."

"Isn't it an actor's duty to fool the world, Kotonami-san?" Yashiro challenged her and Kanae sighed. "I'm not sure why you're angry."

"I want you to do something for me," Kanae said and Yashiro paused hesitantly.

"It really depends on what that something is," he told her and Kanae looked away.

"Once Kyoko comes back to Japan, I want you to see if she can sing. I mean, what annoys me is she's just going to act like a groupie and not stand in the spotlight, mo."

Yashiro grinned, he had thought about that too. He was glad he wasn't the only one who had that type of experiment in mind.

 **AN 2:**

Thank you again to all the supporters of this fic, I think I've expressed how much it means to me 😊 A special shout out to: **Crazy4Animation, daphne121, DreamIdol, and Moon-lit Shadows12**. I just want to let you guys know that I do read and think about your comments and if you want to review in your own first language then please do so, I admit that I just feed it into Google Translator though 😊


	11. Chapter 11 - Karaoke

**AN:** Thanks for your patience everyone, I've found that I've lost out on a lot of writing time but I'm trying to make it a middle priority (after school, work, and taking care of myself) again. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

 **Chapter Eleven - Karaoke**

Kyoko grinned as she came out of the music store with two bags full of CDs. She held them up excitedly as Kuon held a poster behind her and looked at her with a grin, taking in how adorable she really was. They had just spent a little under an hour looking through CD racks and seeing the discount music and memorabilia and there were only a couple of things that Kyoko had bought for herself.

The majority of the items that were making her so happy were one's that she had bought for her husband, even more birthday presents. "You're adorable, you know…" Kuon said before holding his hand out to take the bags. "Here, I'll carry them for you."

"No way," Kyoko giggled as she poked her tongue out at him. "You're hard to buy for, Kuon. I'm just really glad that I was able to spend money and buy you presents." Kuon grinned as he watched her and Kyoko span around a little. "You always tell me to save my money and buy makeup,"

"Because you always get excited when you see the new product line," Kuon told her as he reached out again and saw the stubbornness on his wife's face. Kuon sighed, "How about we go to get a coffee," he suggested and Kyoko paused before her eyes lit up when she saw a sign just behind Kuon. She didn't even know that there were such things as karaoke rooms in Europe.

Kuon turned and grinned as he saw the sign, "We can go there if you want, but I want to hear you sing too," he winked at her and Kyoko turned red and her grip tightened on the bag.

"That's not fair, I don't know how to sing like MAZE does, I just sing songs for fun. I'm not anything close to MAZE's level of professional singing," Kyoko tried to protest and Kuon tilted his head to the side.

"Do you really think that I'd bully you and say mean things? It'll just be the two of us," he pointed and Kyoko sighed. She nodded before her cheeks turned red as she heard Kuon say in his American accent "(No matter how you sing, all I'll be listening to is your heart and it's something I love like crazy.)"

Kuon stepped back as he saw his wife start to go a little faint by just hearing his voice. Did it still have such an effect on her? She had once said that he could make her feel things that nobody else could because of how much she loved him, did that mean that somebody else speaking in an LA accent wouldn't have that kind of effect on her?

"Come on, Cassanova," Kyoko said as she held his hand and noticed how he sneakily moved the bags she was holding onto his own fingers. "Don't laugh though."

"I promise that I wouldn't dare," Kuon grinned back to her and Kyoko smiled, leaning against him. She was just glad that the director had given her a day off on her husband's birthday so that the two of them could spend time together. She never wanted a birthday to go by when she didn't see him.

…..

…..

Kyoko sat up with a light of excitement bouncing in her eyes. She had just seen Kuon perform a few different songs by Americans, the latest being Bon Jovi's "It's My Life." She loved how she could see another part of her Kuon when he sang. She really enjoyed seeing that he had other talents rather than focusing on his godlike acting abilities. She reached out a hand for him and saw him plug something in, she had promised that she would sing the next song with him but she was a little scared of what he would pick.

She sat very still before hearing Disney music and grinned excitedly as she recognized the song. She had seen all of the Disney princess movies and sometimes when she had a cold or a bad day at work, Kuon would wrap her up in his arms and they would watch the movie together. She would take comfort in his presence and his warmth and finally would be able to tell him what went wrong.

She looked into his emerald eyes and listened to his voice, this was the Japanese version of the song but it still scared her that she would be singing next.

"I can show you the world, shining, shimmering, splendid, tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide…" he began and Kyoko picked up the microphone nervously. She knew what singers did because she had known Shotaro for years, but he had told her never to touch one of his precious microphones. She hadn't thought that she would be singing into one.

When it came to her turn to sing, Kyoko closed her eyes and out of her mouth was a voice with so much beauty, Kuon had to immediately take a step back. He knew that his wife was talented but he never knew she could sing like _that_.

"A whole new world. A dazzling place I never knew, but when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear that now I'm in a whole new world with you…" Kyoko opened her eyes to see Kuon smiling at her with awe and delight. He looked so impressed that he didn't even sing the next part of the song.

"Was that okay?" Kyoko asked as he paused the song and came to kneel down in front of where she was sitting. "I didn't sound terrible, did I? You can tell me honestly."

Kuon stared at her and placed a hand on her cheek. "I didn't know you could sing like that," he grinned to her and Kyoko paused unsure what to say. "You're so talented," he kissed her on the lips softly, "Would you be interested in forming a duo?" he asked, "I can't keep Mina in the background with a voice like that."

Kyoko's eyes widened and she held to the microphone. Her smiled increased again and she wrapped her arms around her husband. Was she really a good enough singer that the two of them could do this together? "Don't you want to test me out, hear me do different styles?" she blushed and her voice quickened. "I…MAZE is so popular,"

"I always enjoy things so much more when I do them with you by my side, Kyoko," he said as he kissed her again and Kyoko pulled him closer to her body. She was so excited. She would have turned down the offer of anyone else – well she'd have loved to perform with Moko – but this was Kuon. It would be fun rather than anything else.

"I enjoy those times too," Kyoko giggled as she saw his smile. "Can you go back to the beginning of the song?" she asked, "I'd really like to sing it all with you," she watched him as he did so and held the microphone with more ease now. She really liked the idea of fooling Japan whilst also spending some quality time with the love of her life.

She listened to his voice and inhaled, she just needed to remember how lucky she was that life had turned out this way and she had Corn in her life. Despite his moodiness and gloom on some days, she loved him and she wouldn't trade him for anyone else.

After they had performed the song, Kyoko looked at her husband. "Happy birthday, Kuon. I'm really grateful that I get to have you in my life."

…..

…..

Kuon's birthday had been amazing and he had been extremely grateful that he had had Kyoko in his life to celebrate with him. Soon it would be Valentine's Day and he had already been able to record a duet with Kyoko that he hoped he could send to Lory to be played on Japan radio space. Since MAZE was already supposed to make a Valentine's Day single, it would make sense if LABYRINTH could take that place.

He looked over at his Kyoko as she slept peacefully. "The world is going to love you even more than they already do," he told her as he sent off the song. He smiled thoughtfully before deciding to make a call to MAZE's manager, he had already run through the idea through a series of text messages with the Japanese-American actor and his father, hopefully he could sell him on this too. Kuon didn't see why it would be a problem.

He smiled as he sat at his computer and pressed his dad's image. He grinned as he saw his dad immediately answer it though it looked as if he was at some restaurant. Maybe he should have asked if he had been home first.

"Kuu, do you have to have that thing up when you're eating. I don't think you have anywhere to –" Julie could be heard

"It's Kuon," Kuu said before Julie pushed herself closer to Kuu, "Hey," he grinned to his son.

"Wow, sorry Dad, wrong time I guess," he said, "Should I call back later."

"Of course not, happy birthday, baby. How was it today?" she asked as Kuon smiled softly, "Did you have a good birthday?"

"I did," Kuon smiled, "I'm really glad that I was able to spend time with Kyoko. We'll come and visit you soon, or I can set up for a visit when Kyoko gets back to Japan," he suggested as Julie nodded eagerly.

"Of course," she smiled happily, "We'll come see you whenever you want. Baby, I'm so glad that you're happy," she smiled and Kuon nodded. He sighed and looked over to where Kyoko was stretched out on the bed. He was worried about waking her up and so he took the computer and moved to outside of the bedroom.

"Dad, I've got the demo song for LABYRINTH to send you, do you think that you could represent us both as a manager for the band?" he asked as Kuu grinned.

"Definitely," he said as Julie pouted. "I want to see both of my children get to be as successful as they can possibly be." Kuon grinned at his, it always meant a lot to him how welcoming both his parents were of Kyoko. It made him feel that even during the days when he didn't perform well as her husband, he would still be able to bring her into a family that adored her for who she was.

"Are you talking to your parents?" Kyoko asked as she sat down next to the man she loves and wrapped her arms around him. "Hi," she smiled to the two parents who were so much better than what she had had as a kid.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" Kuon asked carefully as Kyoko snuggled beside him, her eyes dropping to a close.

"it's alright, I'm glad that I get to see your parents," she mumbled though her eyes were closing. "It looks like Father's going to eat a lot."

"Dad _always_ eats a lot," Kuon laughed as did Julie. "We'll set it up," he nodded as Kyoko looked up at him sleepily. "It's alright if my parents come visit us in Japan soon, isn't it?" he asked her and Kyoko's eyes widened.

"Yes! I love seeing you two," she told them as she held onto Kuon's arm. "Maybe you'll be able to talk Kuon into following his dreams even more," she grinned to him. "I'm so glad that I get to spend his birthday with him and maybe we could celebrate it again with the two of you," she said and Kuon kissed her head.

"You're beautiful," he told her, "Inside and Out."

….

 **AN2:** Thank you to everyone who supports this fic and a special shout out to: _ for reviewing the previous chapter 😊 I do always read your reviews and most of the time take what you say in for consideration when planning chapters so thank you 😊

 **A New Fic of Mine**

I know that everyone likes particular fics and particular storylines, but I just wanted to take a moment and talk about a new Skip Beat fic that I've been writing because I'm super excited about it and I feel that the small summary space isn't big enough.

 **The Cold Body of the Law**

Kyoko is relentlessly stalked by a man who claims to be in love with her. Due to this, Kuon gets extra protective of her which leads for Kyoko to try to escape to have a little time for herself. However, this is the time when the stalker finds her and Kyoko is part of a rape. Kuon tries to protect her but is killed whilst trying to do this.

However, since he died of a heroic act, Kuon is brought back into an identity and body created just for him. He is now Takeshi Chiba, both a legacy and a prodigy in the legal world who is physically unable to say who he was in his past. With Kuu's help, he is able to maneuver it to get close to Kyoko again by being the lawyer on the Kuon Hizuri case. Will Kyoko recognize him through actions or will Kuon have to try as Takeshi to win her affections all over again.

This is all juxtaposed with flashbacks of the early part of the Kuon-Kyoko relationship.

I really hope that I've interested at least one person enough to check this new fic out.


	12. Chapter 12 - Valentine's Prep

**AN:** Thank you for your patience in the update of this fic. I hope you enjoy

 **Chapter Twelve – Valentine's Prep**

Kyoko grinned happily as she stood in the kitchen on the day before Valentine's Day. She knew that she used to hate the holiday and that she still thought that people getting too crazy about it – with the exception of the president – were building their expectations too high. However, now that she was married, she secretly liked it. True, she had a husband who wasn't the best to give chocolate to but she liked seeing him smile. Sometimes they would get a small cake or just a small pack of slightly more savory cookies, but usually she would try to think of other things to get him, like wine gelee for example.

This year though he didn't have to worry about the chocolates that his fans, coworkers, and other people sent. She could actually _make_ him a box of chocolates and give it to him. It had been as Yashiro had quoted him, he didn't hate chocolate but he felt an obligation to not show favoritism towards those who sent him the confections.

Kyoko was very glad that Kuon had gone off for one of his personal adventures and this time she hadn't tried to follow him. She had the morning off from her shoot and the filming was ending on the sixteenth anyway, she would be going home with her husband. Today though, today she would make some amazing chocolates for the man she adores despite all of his faults.

Besides, she had to make chocolates that would beat his White Day gift from the previous year, a necklace and bracelet set that looked like jewelry for a Disney princess and was probably more expensive than she could guess. He was always like that, giving her gifts that really suited her and she would talk about with others. No matter what the occasion, he had always been able to give her amazing gifts.

Even the stamp that he had given her on her hand at the end of the Heel sibling work had been so precious to her. When she had learned that not only had he given her the stamp _and_ princess Rosa, but that he had been her childhood friend who had given her a blue stone that took away her sadness, she hadn't wanted to let him leave her. Sure, she had been angry that he had never told her but she couldn't stop herself from wanting to be with her Corn.

If only she had been able to tell that he was Corn through the disguise of Ren Tsuruga, she would have been able to give him nostalgic gifts as well. She was just so fortunate that he was hers.

As she melted the chocolate and separated it into three bowls to make three different types of chocolates, she heard the door open and her eyes widened. She turned towards the blond and looked back at the chocolates she was preparing. Her eyes widened as she looked at him.

"What? Is something wrong?" Kuon said as he noticed her eyes.

"Nothing is wrong," Kyoko replied quickly, "Why would you ask something like that?"

"Because your eyes are usually a quarter of that size," he said and Kyoko looked away and to the chocolate trying to figure out a way to hide it from him.

"Are they?" she asked before feeling her husband step behind her.

"They are, I told you that as an actress you have to take in all of the details from your surroundings. You know, I might be able to get that physical scanning process down, but I know my princess's emotions." He smiled as he looked at what she was working on, "Ah," he nodded as he looked at the bowls and the chocolate. "You're making me chocolates this year?" he asked with a happy and cute smile.

"Well, I _was_ making you chocolates," Kyoko told him as she pouted and looked away, "buuuut maybe I won't since it won't be a surprise."

She saw Kuon pout in the adorable way he did when he really wanted to manipulate her with how adorable he was. "Okay, you know I can't take that pout. You don't know how you look so sweet and adorable just like Cain and his puppies."

Kuon laughed, "Well, I still don't know how you didn't figure that was part of my personality when you met me," he winked as Kyoko rolled her eyes.

"As if that disciplined glare and that mature disdain made Ren Tsuruga look adorable," she said before sighing. "I love you," she said in an inhale and then looked back at the chocolate, "Promise me that you'll eat them?" she asked as Kuon nodded.

"I promise," he said before looking towards the door, "Should I go back out and give you some privacy?"

Kyoko shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. "No, now that you know, it's too late to do anything about it. I can't believe we get to go home soon, I've really missed everyone in Japan."

"Well, maybe you'll be able to do more international work now," Kuon said as Kyoko hummed to herself.

"Maybe, now you go sit down and listen to music or put the TV on or something. I don't want you to see the flavors or the decorations," she said as she pushed him, trying to steer him towards the living room in a playful way.

"As long as you don't put hate to Kuon or something," he teased back as Kyoko raised an eyebrow.

"I would never consider doing that, but if you continue to be in the kitchen, I might do so," she said and Kuon laughed before leaving the room. He had come back because of some information that Yashiro had sent to him, but it could wait until she had finished. He wasn't really sure how she would react to a part of the information anyway.

As he picked up his phone and selected a playlist, he sat on the sofa with his eyes closed. He really wanted to admit it to her that he was happy that after the years they had known one another, his wife was going all out to make him a box of Valentines homemade chocolates. Knowing Kyoko, these chocolates would be filled with her love for him and that was the best gift that he had ever been given.

…..

…..

Kyoko grinned as she saw that Kuon had fallen asleep whilst listening to music. She had managed to make three types of chocolates. They were all dark chocolate, one was a dark chocolate with a little bit of salt, the second had some coconut flakes, and the third had some red wine added to it. She had test tasted them all and they were good. She hoped that he would enjoy them.

As she watched him sleep she felt her heart beat and she thought about how lucky she was that she could spend the rest of her life with him. He had his faults but so did she. Together they made it all work. As she came over to him, she sat beside him and watched as he opened his eyes and looked at her in a sleepy manner.

"Hey," he told her, "How long was I?"

"I don't know, I just finished and cleaned up," Kyoko smiled. She kissed his cheek and then held onto his hand. "I like watching you sleep so I'm a bit disappointed that you woke up so soon," she teased as she rubbed his upper arm. Kuon grinned in response.

"Maybe tomorrow morning or I might be persuaded to go to bed a little early," he told her before getting his phone. "Our duet went out yesterday," he told her as he pulled up some messages that he had been sent about them making a music video or going on tour and how popular they had become.

"So our first song is the top of the charts?" Kyoko asked as her eyes shone with happy tears. "That's incredible, it must be because of you though."

"Are you kidding?" Kuon laughed, "I might like to sing but your voice is much better than mine and reading some reviews, there are people who agree with that. I think that Mina is selling extremely well and she has many famous fans already."

Kyoko stared at Kuon, her eyes widening, "Mina has fans?" she asked and Kuon smiled. He took a half breath before deciding to show her the page anyway. He turned to an article that was discussing Mina and how everyone wanted to meet her. They were saying how MAZE was amazing but that Mina really made them shine and that Labyrinth was better than a solo act. She scrolled to the bottom and her eyes widened as she read that the biggest fan of Mina in the celebrity world was none other than Shou Fuwa. Did he know?

 _The legendary Fuwa Shou has said that he has never worked with the duo and doesn't believe he has come across either of them in his line of work. He has said that he would love to duet with Mina-Ta in the future. When asked about his thoughts on Mina, Shou told us, "You can really tell about a woman through their voice. When I hear Mina sing it's a voice that could only go together with mine. She seems an interesting woman who I'd like to meet and sing a duet with. I don't think she's had the skill development that I've gone through but I wish her luck, whoever she is."_

"Do you think that he knows?" Kyoko asked and Kuon shook his head.

"I honestly don't," he told her, "I know that Fuwa is still attracted to you. I think most people in the entertainment or journalism world know that, but if he knew it was you then he knew it would be me as well as Mina is said to be MAZEs significant other. I don't think Fuwa would give up the chance to try to bash me in the media."

Kyoko nodded slowly, "Maybe. I wish that he'd grow up from that. You finally made it so that I can forgive him for treating me the way that he did. He's asked me if we could start to be friends again but I don't know why he can't make his peace with you."

"Because he's pathetic and slow-minded or maybe he's just envious and his delicate ego won't let him believe that there are people who have stronger skill sets than him," Kuon shrugged. He looked at his wife with a smile, "So, how do you feel about going on tour throughout Japan?"

"Maybe in a couple of months," Kyoko told him, "You still need to teach me how to play an instrument."

"Okay," Kuon nodded, "Guitar? Drums?"

"Keyboard," Kyoko told him. "I'd like you to show me how to play the keyboard so that I can forever live in that moment when I was watching you do the acting test as Katsuki for Dark Moon. I think that was the moment when I realized I was starting to fall in love with you."

Kuon smiled, "Throughout that whole test, I couldn't keep myself from thinking about how much I love you."

Kyoko nodded as a blush appeared over her cheeks, "Then keyboard," she repeated, "Definitely keyboard."

 **[End Chapter Twelve]**

 **AN2:** I just realized I never added the names of my Chapter Ten reviewers in the last chapter. I am so sorry! I really did mean to do this but I guess I never came back and did it so I'll thank you guys in this chapter as well. I also, of course, like to thank anyone who reads/supports this fic in whichever way they chose to do so.

Special shoutout for reviews of

Chapter Ten: DreamIdol, Guest, KetriaTM

Chapter Eleven: Ashenvale, era-romance, ladygraywolf


	13. Chapter 13 - Home

**AN:** Thank you for your patience everyone 😊 I've been meaning to update this for a while but have found myself swamped with school and work (this week I've had three hours of class, twenty hours of homework, and twenty-seven hours of retail work. Add to that the physical exhaustion from practicing steno and packing/carrying heavy boxes and you can see why my fanfiction updates have been slower 😉) anyway, now that I have this one up, I really hope you enjoy it.

 **Chapter Thirteen - Home**

Kyoko smiled as she watched the other actors performing their scenes. She had been so excited when she had been offered a chance at an international role and when they had expanded her role only _after_ they had seen her acting, it was a greater thrill to her. This was her last day of shooting and then the next day she and Kuon would be going back to Japan and there was a lot to think about.

She smiled as she thought about the chocolates that he had eaten the previous day as well as how he had reacted when she had given him the gifts. She had been nervous by one of the gifts, a small Kyoko 'charm doll' which she had given Kanae one of years ago but he had slipped it into his shirt pocket and said it was protecting him.

Kyoko couldn't help but think how that was cute.

Kuon had broken his word though and had given her a gift as well. However, she couldn't be angry with him for it. It was a private instruction in piano or keyboard, her choice, from Kuon Hizuri as well as choice of meal and wine provided by him. It was a really cute moment when he had handed her the coupon for that. She loved how she could see that side of him. Many people didn't know he could act like a kid, all they saw whenever they looked at him was still _Ren_. It probably got pretty lonely when that's all people could see.

Kyoko allowed her eyes to follow the way that one of the crew members was testing the keys on a keyboard nearby. She smiled as she saw how skillfully he played, how his fingers danced over the keys and she thought back to the acting test that Kuon, or really Ren, had done as Katsuki.

"Hey, it's your last day," Ashley said as she took a seat next to Kyoko. The two had become friends over the past weeks of shooting and Kyoko was glad that there was someone she could talk to even if the conversations only came about when Ashley needed material about Japanese culture for a script she was attempting to pitch.

"Yes, I'm glad that I was able to work with so many talented people," Kyoko smiled as she looked at Ashley's necklace which was a small silver tiara on a chain. "That is beautiful," she commented and Ashley nodded.

"Valentine's Day, of course," she said, "Don't tell me that the prince didn't -"

"The prince?" Kyoko blinked, she hadn't thought that she had mentioned princes. Was that the thing in the UK that everyone just thought about princes because of the royal family.

"Okay, your husband, but with his looks he does - do you have one of those, sexiest men in Japan competitions or does Japan not do that. I know that it started in the US, but us Brits have to see those blokes in their pants as well."

"We do," Kyoko blushed, "I think he won three times, yes three years he was elected the sexiest guy in Japan."

"Can't blame them," Ashley smiled as Kyoko blushed. She was glad that Kuon wasn't around to hear this conversation. "So, on behalf all of us English folk, just wanted to say that I hope you've enjoyed your trip."

"It's been amazing," Kyoko blushed, "I'll definitely have to come here with Kuon. He's into travelling, but our schedules keep us really busy, it's hard to find time for just us. I didn't really understand how little I'd see of him some weeks before we started living together. I love him though and I hope that whatever he does, he's happy."

Ashley smiled, "I hope that he's someone who has a lot of friends," she said as Kyoko tensed a little and then looked at the writer. She knew that Kuon was social but she had come to learn that he kept to himself perhaps a little too much and she was one of the few that could see how he got depressed. She was fighting it with him every day, but whereas he was intelligent, talented, had amazing athletic ability, and was as sexy as a God, he wasn't someone who spent his personal behind the scenes time with a lot of other people because of his past.

"We do, he's my best friend but don't tell Kanae Kotonami that I ever said that," Kyoko smiled as Ashley nodded.

"Okay, that's a deal, so did he get you anything for Valentine's Day?" she asked and Kyoko smiled as she remembered the promise.

"He's going to arrange keyboarding lessons for me," she said. She didn't think that was a big secret, after all there were many many actors who liked to pursue other skills such as writing, photography, and music. "He's going to teach me and then spoil me as he does it," she smiled as Ashley nodded.

"I bet that…what's it called again – White Day gift is going to be amazing," she winked and Kyoko nodded. "You should make the best of it, let him guide your hand, pull him in close, and -"

…..

…..

Kyoko allowed her nose to track Kuon's scent as they sat down in front of the keyboard that she had picked out in their Japanese home. She was so excited to be back and she loved seeing that, even though they had both been exhausted, he was determined to keep his promise to her. She loved how he held her hand and placed them upon the keys. She loved how he could hold her with her back pressed to his chest and how she could have the privilege of only looking up into his emerald eyes from that angle.

"So, if you continue putting your fingers here and here," Kuon showed her as she kept her hands under his as he helped her put her fingers on the right keys, "You'll be able to play a few bars of Three Blind Mice."

"You know," Kyoko said playfully as she let her hand rest on Kuon's cheek and then slip down to his neck, "You're a _really_ good teacher, Mr. Hizuri"

"It helps when I have a talented student such as yourself, Ms. Kyoko," he teased her as he kissed her, smelling her hair very briefly as he came behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Mrs. Hizuri," Kyoko smiled, "I have the most wonderful husband and so I am proud to be a Mrs. Hizuri," she said as she smiled at Kuon, "Just like your mother is."

Kuon smiled before he kissed Kyoko's head, "You know, I really need to teach you some new music, maybe Prisoner," he said as she glared at him.

"You do that and I'll make sure that you can't get his voice out of _your_ head," she said before looking away. She had a surprise for Kuon which had to do with that guy, she was really hoping that he would find it as a fun way to spend a married date night. She really didn't want there to be any tension between the two of them. She was home and she was very happy that she was.

"Okay, okay," Kuon said before smiling at her. "How did I get so lucky and have you become my wife?"

"Well, I think it was the charismatic Ren Tsuruga and the supportive and pure Corn you have to thank for that. If it wasn't for those two I would never have been able to find myself making me the lucky one," Kyoko said as she played the tune on the keyboard. Kuon had already told her about posture and the way to sit with one's hands, but she felt like she needed more practice with moving her hands over the keyboard. It was similar to a computer in the same way as it was similar to doing food assembly, you pressed the keys in the right way, the right pattern, and repeat…or at least something like that.

"Kuon, are you sure you want Mina playing an instrument, can't she be above the music," Kyoko said nervously as Kuon stared at her.

"You always put your all in to everything you do. If you really don't want to -"

"I do," Kyoko cut him off, "but I don't want you to slow down in your goals. If you wait for me then won't people be demanding that MAZE releases some fresh material?" she asked.

"MAZE will always wait for his Mina Ta," Kuon smiled to her, "And you don't need to worry about the time it takes, maybe we'll put out some material that is just acoustics or maybe I'll play the guitar in a slow style where you don't pay too much attention to the instrument. Then when you're ready, we'll write the songs together and work as a team."

"I'm so proud to be your wife, I'm so proud to be your bull guarding you from people who want to hurt you," she tried to tell him. "Kuon, I…I don't want you to feel that you're being forced into this so if you don't want to, I completely understand."

"What might I not want to do?" Kuon asked as he looked at her and let his hand move to tuck her hair behind her ear. "What can I not give to my princess, my empress?"

"I got backstage tickets to the Shou Fuwa concert," Kyoko said as Kuon looked at her very confused.

"I thought you once told me that it would be on threat of _my_ death that you would see one of Fuwa's concerts. You said you would do anything to keep me from feeling pain and even give him money if it helped me. Is there something that _you_ wanted to say to him?" he asked, not wanting to get pulled into this. Kuon wanted to avoid as much interaction with Shou Fuwa as he possibly could.

"Well, when I say that I got tickets, I mean that I got them for MAZE and Mina. Since he seemed to speak so fondly in his interview of me, I thought I'd pay him a visit and tell him how little I think of him but in a nice and confusing way," Kyoko said as Kuon paused before smiling.

"Can I just tell you that I love this idea, I just hope it doesn't spoil the name of Labyrinth," he said and Kyoko looked at him, placing a hand over her heart.

"I swear that I am going to sound very pleasant when I tell him how his music is the only good thing about him," Kyoko said and Kuon looked up.

"It would make it very interesting for the media to think that there's a rivalry between Fuwa and MAZE. MAZE is actually outperforming him as well. As long as we play our cards right it might be very very good," he grinned.

"See, that's why I married you," Kyoko smiled although for some reason she was feeling a tight pain in her stomach as if she were about to throw up, maybe too much wine. "You hear my plots and you support them, other people might say that I invest too much energy into my anger."

"You remember what I always tell you about emotional strength?" Kuon asked her.

"That you'll always try to make sure that you give me all the strength that I need to perform at the top of my game?"

"No," Kuon replied, "That I can't judge because I'm more messed up than anyone we know."

Kyoko didn't think that was true, but there was some honesty in it. Kuon was the full package, but he did have his dark and depressed side as well which Kyoko had always wanted to spread light to but couldn't.

 **End Chapter Thirteen**

 **AN2:** Thank you again to those who read and support this fic. A special shout out to: **Crazy4Animation, DreamIdol, ktoll9, paulagato, and RichkeyZero** (whose profile pic made me squee 😊) for reviewing the previous chapter, I really do appreciate it.


	14. Chapter 14 - Duets

**AN1:** This chapter is a little shorter than most so I hope you enjoy it 😊 I have some good ideas for the next chapter and onwards so I really hope you enjoy it 😊

 **Chapter Fourteen – Duet**

Kyoko couldn't hide her excitement at going to Shou's concert with back stage passes as MAZE and Mina-Ta, but she had to talk to Sawara-san about how her assignment went. She had been asked in the past if she wanted to switch over to the acting department, but somehow that felt to her as if she were denying her roots. Maybe it was out of nostalgia, but she felt that the files were better off in one place though.

They _had_ actually included her as an actress in the company directors though and as they had just put out a new one, she wanted to get it. She had calculated it out and it would have Hizuri and Hizuri as a double spread rather than them being on the same page but opposite sides. The Hizuri couple was the most famous and most popular within LME. Everyone also knew that they were the favorites.

She spotted it before she reached the offices and picked it up, flipping through the pages until a grin spread over her face. They had put the two of them together. She didn't have to take out the page for Kyoko and then place it next to the one for Ren Tsuruga anymore. They had been married over a year, but this was the first time that she had been listed as Kyoko Hizuri and the second time it had been Kuon Hizuri – formally Ren Tsuruga.

"Don't tell me that you're _that_ happy because you get to see your married name," Kanae sighed as she rolled her eyes, she paused as she saw Kyoko's eyes open and her smile spread over her face.

"Moookoo!" she grinned as she jumped at her friend, who just stood there and allowed her to hug her. "It's been so long."

Kanae smiled before trying to give a more serious expression, "It might be long for you but that's because you were in a foreign country, although you weren't too busy to - " she shook her head. She wasn't going to bring up how much she had loved listening to Mina's voice and she had played their song on repeat. She didn't need to have some sappy friendship like that and she _especially_ didn't have to have that kind of relationship with that man (despite how happy he kept Kyoko most of the time.)

"That's so mean, Moko" Kyoko grinned, "You should always say welcome home, Kyoko. You've been missed. I know that I would miss you, Moko, even if you went to a foreign country for only a few hours." Kyoko placed a hand on her heart trying to show the true meaning of friendship.

"Will you stop it?" Kanae asked, "You wouldn't even know if I went to a foreign country if I was only there for a few hours and then think of how much of a waste air travel like that would cost, Mo…" she sighed before smiling at her married friend. "Although, I do have to say I missed your energy."

"I'd know. It's the same energy that Moko-san is reacting to that would lead to me knowing where she is at all times. Even if you went into outer space for two minutes, my heart would let me know where you were." Kyoko grinned.

"Am I supposed to think that you're saying these things to me because you couldn't say them to your husband? Although I do think that you joined in on his little game," Kanae said as Kyoko tried to fool her by tilting her head to the side as if not understanding what was going on. "I know that you're Mi-"

Kyoko paled and nodded, "I should have known that Moko would figure it out," she said as she rubbed her back and felt herself sweat slightly. "You always know where I am too, huh?" she asked before grinning. "I think that it's giving him a boost of confidence as well. It's rare that in a position like his you don't see that ego, but what he does think about can be a little bit frightening. I'm glad he's doing something to direct those -" Kyoko paused as she stopped herself from continuing. "I shouldn't say those things as his wife."

"To a regular person, no, you probably shouldn't say those things. To an interviewer then definitely not. As your best friend though, I'm all ears to hear you talk about him," Kanae said before smiling. "Of all the things you've told me about him, he still doesn't know that I know them."

"That's true," Kyoko nodded but sighed, "He felt depressed again, Moko. I just hope that MAZE is able to help him as much as Ren was, but that's not something that we should be speaking about here. Kuon is very…well he gets very involved with his characters."

"I trust you then," Kanae said before smiling, "Can you think back to the days before you were married and didn't have to worry about that man."

"You mean when I was five?" Kyoko asked with a grin. "No. Even with that huge gap between us, I still thought about Corn all the time. He was the strength that kept me going and if it wasn't for Corn's power, I wouldn't have met you. It was Corn who stopped me from returning to Kyoto even if he wasn't there presently."

"I was thinking fifteen, but you're right, you do have that kind of made for TV romance going on," Kanae said as Kyoko smiled.

"I know," she nodded, "I am very lucky."

…..

…..

MAZE wrapped his arms around Mina protectively as they stood backstage for their chance of meeting Shou. When Shou had been told _who_ he would be meeting, he had felt excited about Mina being there however, he hadn't wanted to ever cross paths with MAZE without having set a challenge between the two of them. Well, maybe it was time to show this Mina girl _who_ was the true star.

"So, this is Shou and Shou this is the band Labyrinth," Shouko said and Kyoko had to be impressed by how long she had been his manager. It was a hard feat and it should never have gone to one single woman. Hopefully, behind the scenes, she wasn't drowning in misery. No, Sho was dumb and all of that but he wasn't a heartbreaker to one with such a large bust.

"We saw him," MAZE said before rolling his eyes, "We can go?"

"MAZE, I know you know I'll do anything to help you get what you want, but if I want to talk about music to this person," she said as she gestured to Shou. "I'd like to -"

"You can have whatever your heart desires," MAZE said before smiling in a way that was reminiscent but not the same to Ren Tsuruga. "I think he gives music a bad name though," he said as Shou's mouth dropped.

"Who asked your opinion," Shou said. "Of course, my music doesn't appeal to men, it's the love behind my music that makes gorgeous girls want to perform with me. I imagine that was your reason for coming."

"You're right," Mina said as she turned to MAZE, "This creature can't sing very well," she tilted her head, "I was expecting more from what you said about me in the magazine, but MAZE said that you sounded like you needed to use the restroom. With the movements of your body, I felt very ill," she said as she saw Kuon attempting not to break.

Shou stared at the two of them. Back stages passes were rare and expensive, had the two of them paid the money _just_ so that they could come and threaten him. What was with this absurdity? "Well, I just performed and my clothes are nicer than yours. So, you see that the industry wants me more. I'm the one who -"

"Wealth?" MAZE asked with a fire burning in his eyes, "I heard somewhere that you were from a wealthy family. Is that what music is all about for you, wealth? You disgust me. You should go and think about what kind of a life you have. Wealth and no love isn't a way to make music."

"That's right," Mina said, "Why don't you have a girlfriend? I guess you intimidated them?" She shook her head before smiling, "No, they must have run away from the sound of your voice. Well, just to let you know, MAZE is the stronger singer out of the two of you. He's going to beat you, just you watch," she smiled. She took MAZE's hand. "Your right, we should go home. I need a damp cloth to help me with my headache."

"At least you don't have the nausea that I have," MAZE groaned. He looked to Shou again, "We will beat you as artists. Just wait for the rankings to come out," he leaned closer to Shou. "I'll win each and every time," he said before feeling Mina tug him out with Shou just staring at the two of them.

What kind of weirdos were they?

Shou looked at Mina before rolling his eyes, "You know, if you do ever come to your senses and get bored of him, I'd love to welcome you onto my team. You seem like a really nice girl," he said before running his tongue over his bottom list which pissed Kyoko off a bit.

MAZE put a hand on Mina's shoulder, "You're an idiot," he told Shou bluntly, "Let's go," he said as he motioned with his head for them to go. "I've got a song to write about stupid people," he sighed as Mina pointed to Shou.

"Him?" she asked, "Is he the stupid person?" she smiled, she turned to Shou and looked him up and down. "Looks like it."

"You know, you should actually think of yourself as stupid because _you're_ the one who spent money coming here to tell me this, I get that money," Shou grinned and MAZE turned to him with a neutral face.

"It's charity. I feel sorry for you because you have no love in your heart. You do not possess the soul of an artist. Where is _your_ minotaur?" he asked as Mina reached out for him thinking that maybe they should just leave. Shou deserved this but did Kuon actually have control over MAZE?

"Let's leave," Mina yawned and took MAZE's hand so that they could leave. She grinned when they were met by camera flashes and reporters who had seen the two of them enter. She wrapped her arms around MAZE's neck and kissed him, allowing her foot to pop whilst she did so.

"It's Labyrinth," one of the reporters said. "MAZE, Mina, are you fans of Fuwa? Are you friends of his?"

"I'm not up to comment but we've got some good stuff coming up soon and I was just issuing a challenge between artists," he said and Mina smiled as they walked off together. Soon Shou was appearing in front of the crowd with no idea that it was Kuon and Kyoko who had just posed as this threat to his career.

 **End Chapter Fourteen**

 **AN2:** Thank you to everyone who reads and supports this fic, it means a lot to me. Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Thirteen: **DreamIdol and paulagato**


	15. Chapter 15 - The Next Step

**AN:** Sorry for not updating this in about a month. I've had a lot of things happening recently and sometimes there are a few fics that I overlook. I want to stop doing this so I've set up a schedule which will hopefully allow me to update all my Skip Beat fics at least once a week. Thank you for your patience.

 **Chapter Fifteen – The Next Step**

Kyoko stared stunned at the test in front of her. In her life there had been so many tests that she had passed. Whether they were academic tests or acting tests, she hadn't really failed that many of them at all. However, with this particular test she wasn't sure whether she would have preferred to have failed or not. She didn't want to tell that fact to Kuon but she wasn't sure how to tell him about this.

She needed to go to a doctor. Only the doctor could really tell her if she was pregnant or not.

There could be worse possibilities, much worse. For instance, she could have been having Sho's child and he could have duped her without knowing that she was pregnant at sixteen years old. Of course, that would mean that the two of them would have had to sleep together and she had only slept with one man. If that had happened, would she feel the same way towards her child?

Yet, it wasn't some random guy who used a fake name or fake emotions to trick her. This was the child of a man she loved with her entire heart. A man who, yes, he certainly did have his problems, but loved her so much and tried so hard for her. She knew that given the opportunity, Kuon would be a great father but she worried about her own value as a mother. A child needed a strong mother _and_ strong father.

Then she had the feeling that she might be letting Kuon down. Labyrinth meant more to him than it did to her. Sure, she loved being a part of it and she liked getting recognition for a skill she hadn't known that she had. She liked being in a duet with someone who treasured her and loved her. However, first of all, their identities were supposed to be a secret. If she suddenly showed up pregnant alongside him at the same time as she was pregnant as herself, Mina would get found out and everyone knew how much Kuon adored her so MAZE might get discovered as well. Also, she really didn't want to be on stage with a pregnant belly.

She wouldn't be able to act for a while afterwards as well. She feared the fact that her body would start to change and that she would be so plump that she might have difficulty moving. Would Kuon really be able to handle her in that state? She could imagine him being helpful and kind, making sure she had everything that she could possibly want, but was that just her idealizing the situation?

She looked down at her feet and sighed. It was most likely better to tell him than to not tell him.

She made her way into the room where Kuon was currently working on a new song. He had become very captivated by the idea that he might be able to beat Sho in his own area of show business. Maybe she had infected him with the thinking that Sho was someone he had to beat. If she had known that his challenge with him was so much stronger than she was expecting, would she really have taken him backstage?

"Sweetie," she said as she came and sat down beside him, "You seem to be working really hard," she said as she held the stick behind her back. "Do you have a moment? I want to share something with you."

Kuon looked at her and nodded immediately, he placed the pen down on the notebook, wanting to give his wife the full attention that she deserved. "What is it?" he asked as Kyoko gestured for them to sit down on the sofa together. Kuon did as she wanted and the two of them sat down together. "Kyoko?" he asked as she ran her finger over the back of the test.

"I have to go to the doctor to make sure I'm really…" she said as Kuon's eyes widened.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt or sick or anything? Do we need to go right now, I'll take you," he panicked but Kyoko shook her head. She placed a loving hand on his shoulder wanting to calm him down.

"Here," she pulled the pregnancy test out and showed him as his eyes widened looking at the plus sign. "I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out," she said as she saw the joy explode on Kuon's face as he looked at her with a smile that she wished she had sunglasses for.

"Wow," he said as he looked at the stick and Kyoko felt comforted by his excitement. "Wow, are you though…are you okay?" he asked her as he handed her back the stick. "I know that you don't really want to…are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Kuon" Kyoko nodded.

"I know that you're not really…that you don't really…" he struggled to say. He wanted to tell her that if she needed to have an abortion, though he didn't like the idea, he would support her. This wasn't about whether he wanted kids or whether he was excited but what was best for them as a couple. He definitely didn't want to push Kyoko through an unwanted pregnancy.

"I didn't before," Kyoko admitted, "but then I met you. Kuon, this is a part of both of us and I'm excited too. I just want to make sure that it's not a false positive."

"So, you're really okay?" Kuon asked nervously. He looked at her, his eyes trying to see if there was any nervousness or anxiety within her. He didn't want her to just be saying that she wanted the child because he did. He didn't want to force that on her.

"Yes, after the third positive I'm good," Kyoko said to him as Kuon looked down.

"I promise that I'll take care of you and the baby," Kuon promised. "I know that sometimes I'm not that reliable but I'm here for you. I'm sorry about the past, but I want to vow to you that anything that you need, I'll try my best to give to you or do for you."

"It's alright," Kyoko nodded, she laughed softly, "It's okay. You're going to be an amazing dad, Kuon."

Kuon smiled, "You'll be an amazing mother, we're amazing together," he said as he took her hand and Kyoko looked over at the notebook.

"That means that we can only tour for a few months as Labyrinth because I want to stop before I start showing. I know that you're excited about it but…"

"Kyoko, MAZE and Labyrinth don't mean as much to me as you and any children we might have together," he smiled before pulling her into a loving embrace. "I love you so much," he told her and Kyoko smiled as she managed to relax in his arms.

…

…..

"So, congratulations," the doctor said, "You two are going to have a baby."

Kuon grinned as he looked at Kyoko, his eyes were showing so much light and happiness but it also was apparent that he was trying to consider Kyoko's feelings as well. She had started off never wanting to have children because of her relationship with her own mother. She was scared that she wouldn't know how to love a child, but at the same time she hadn't really known love. Fuwa hadn't given her proper love or affection and maybe he had done enough to give Kyoko confidence in her heart's capabilities.

Kyoko just sat there stunned and then smiled as she looked at Kuon. "I'm excited," she admitted as he grinned and stood so that he could wrap her up in his arms. "I'm really excited. I just hope that I can be a good mother," she looked up at the doctor as if she had some idea. "You think that can happen right? There's not some genetic code that makes you a bad parent."

"I think that you'll be wonderful parents," the doctor told them, "and no, there is no genetic code that I'm aware of which makes you a bad parent. There is postpartum depression but let's not worry about that unless it seems a likelihood. So, Kyoko, I'd like to schedule you for some of your first appointments and then I think the two of you will want to celebrate this new part of your lives."

Kyoko nodded eagerly and looked up at Kuon who was still smiling his killer smile. She laughed a little and then nodded. "I'll get changed and then we can make the appointments," she said before looking at Kuon and then turned to the doctor, "This will be with patient-doctor confidentiality?" she asked and the doctor nodded.

"I promise not to say a word about it to anyone," she said before Kyoko reached up and let her hand rest on Kuon's cheek before kissing him again. They waited until the doctor had left and Kyoko looked down. "I suppose that I should take a break from acting, I think we need to talk to the president about it," she said and Kuon watched her.

"I can take care of the baby once he or she is born if you want," he suggested. "It would only be for a couple of years."

"Kuon," Kyoko said as she shook her head, "What kind of a wife would I be if I made you give up on your dream? No. I think we'll be fine if we coordinate our schedules and make sure that we can _both_ take care of the child," she smiled. "Thank you for being so thoughtful though."

"Just so you know, you are my dream," Kuon told her as Kyoko blushed.

She really hoped this family life would work out for them. That was all she ever would want.

…..

…..

Kyoko and Kuon both sat in front of Lory as they tried not to give away the news that they had. They had said that they wanted to talk about the tour that they were planning as Labyrinth, but now the main reason why they were here had changed. Kuon had called his parents as soon as they had arrived back home after the doctors and had set up this appointment with Lory for a few hours following that.

Both of them knew how hurt Kuu would be if he ever found out that he and Julie were not the first to be told about this. Them knowing about this had led to them wanting to come and see the two of them. Well, Kuu Hizuri was MAZE's manager so if he wanted to follow them around in disguise he technically could.

"You're holding something out on me," Lory pouted as he leaned forwards. He had chosen to dress as a British punk musician today but he could have been wearing anything or nothing at all, the two of them were not going to be dragged down from their news. "Why else would he be smiling so much?" Lory said as he pointed to Kuon.

Kyoko looked down and held to Kuon's hand, "We're pregnant," she said as Kuon kissed the top of her head lovingly.

Lory sat there for a moment in silence before laughing loudly, "Where's a marching band and orchestra when you need them?"

 **End of Chapter Fifteen**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you muffins to the reviewers of Chapter Fourteen**

DreamIdol, Crazy4Animation, ktoll9,

 _Guilty confession: The reason I didn't want to update this fic when I just released Ch14 was that it received so many hits and people reading it, but it only received one review. The second review was given four days later. I am so thankful for reviews and I know they are not to be expected but it made me feel like people disliked this fic to only receive one for four days. Still, I am thankful for all reviews._


	16. Chapter 16 - Home Values

**AN:** This time, apart from not really being the most passionate about this fic, I don't have any other excuse than a concussion for the slow update so I'm extremely thankful for your patience. I don't think this chapter will make up for the wait but I hope you enjoy anyway.

 **Chapter Sixteen – Home Values**

Kyoko smiled as she looked over the song lyrics that Kuon had been working on. If there was something that her husband had plenty of it was passion. She knew how hard he had had it in life but the way he had always motivated himself enough to fight for his dreams and maintain his values impressed her. There were some very scary parts of his narrative that she would have never guessed, but there were also many parts that she had embroidered into her heart and her memories.

Overall, he was _her_ Kuon. That's all that mattered.

No matter what some people might diagnose him as, no matter what some people might criticize, no matter the people who said she was too good for him, she loved him so passionately. He was the reason that this baby was such an exciting thing for her. It was his child as well.

As she took a few steps closer to him, she saw that he was looking at real estate listings in and around Tokyo. She frowned. This wasn't something that they had discussed and she had wanted to ask him for another option, one that surprised even her.

"Kuon," she said as she came and sat beside him, he looked at her and instantly made room for her to sit down comfortably before wrapping an arm around her. "Wha-" Kyoko began but then was cut off as she looked at the ones that he had circled. Each of them had beautiful gardens that she didn't think you could find. A few even had small lakes or ponds. He really knew what she liked.

"I thought that since you're giving me a fairytale, I'd do my best to find us a castle where we can raise our son or daughter," he told her and Kyoko smiled weakly. She placed a hand on his cheek.

"Kuon, listen to me. I love that you're doing this for us but I had another idea," she told him and Kuon blinked at her. "Well, I'd really love our child to be _born_ in Japan and have Japanese citizenship….but…"

Kuon tilted his head as he looked at her, "…but"

"Well, I think the best thing for a new baby is to be surrounded by those that love them. I also think that it would be nice to be around people who love us as a couple and want to see our child grow up healthy and happy," Kyoko still wasn't sure if she was explaining it right but she had to try to focus on her words. "I'd like to raise the baby in America."

Kuon blinked at her and then placed a scrap of paper in the brochure he was looking through, "I thought we agreed to have the baby here. Kyoko, I don't want you to suffer through the niche -"

"I might not want to act for a year or more and if I do then I'm fine using my talent to gain roles and if they don't want to give them to me because I'm Japanese then I'll fight harder," Kyoko looked at her husband. "I want a support team."

"You'd want to move back when you did want to start acting?" Kuon asked and Kyoko took his hand and watched him.

"I want an adventure with you but there's two very important people who deserve to know this child," she told him and Kuon paused.

"I think my parents would understand if we were to -"

"I know," Kyoko cut him off. "Trust me, your parents are amazing people, Kuon. They are so amazing that they were able to bring someone like you into the world. They are so amazing that I would give up everything we have here so that we can be with them and they can get to know their grandchild."

"I thought that Japan was your -" Kuon said speechless as he thought about the conversation that they had had in London. He thought about how immature he had been then, how he was lucky that Kyoko was fully aware of just how much of an arrogant idiot he could be. He had been ready to invest in a new dream but Kyoko saying this made him wonder whether she was giving up too much for his sake.

"I want to have a family," Kyoko smiled. "I want to see my husband excel and fly through the skies. I want to have a baby that has a loving family around it. I don't want to make your parents babysit all the time but I think our child deserves to know them."

"Can we discuss this with them?" Kuon asked and Kyoko smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Absolutely," she replied and he pulled her close to his side.

They would be seeing them in a couple of days anyway as his 'manager' wanted to see their first concert of the tour.

…..

…..

Mina couldn't keep her eyes off of MAZE as he performed right in front of her. She had sung with him before and of course she had been there to both see his acting and perform alongside him, but with the news that he was going to be a father, he was so much more powerful.

She hated to admit it, but the power and intensity that he was bringing to his singing performances reminded her of the blinding light that Shotaro had been in. She loved to think about the strength that her husband had inside of himself and she loved when she sang as well, but to compare someone as meaningful as Kuon with someone like Shotaro seemed like blasphemy.

She looked into the crowd and grinned. So, this was what it was like to be this popular. This was the musical performances that Shotaro always gave. Well, now she knew why he could never see a plain and ordinary girl compared to this. The bright lights gave the crowd a different effect. As she played on the keyboard – which Kuon had taught to her easily with their great student-teacher dynamic – she looked at him.

If she was the past Kyoko and he was in Sho's place, would Kuon have cast her off like a dirty pair of socks? If he had been him, the great actor, and she had been a lowly commoner and never stepped foot in LME, would he have wanted her with or without knowledge of the stone that she possessed?

For some reason, she thought he would.

So, she definitely didn't mind taking some time to take care of the home and become a good wife and mother because even if there was a time when people forgot her name or the roles that she played. Even if she was in a position where she could never get a role or feel the passion of acting, he would still be there and he would still return to her night after night. Labels didn't matter. She didn't know if they had ever mattered to either Kuon or Ren. It didn't seem like something he'd stake importance in.

Taking a few deep breaths, Kyoko quietened her mind so that Mina could sing her part in the song and work with her talents to achieve the best result for the two of them. She heard the final riff on the guitar and MAZE took a step to center stage.

"We'd just like to say thank you for your support. It's fans like you who keep Mina and myself motivated. So, I'm MAZE, she's Mina, and from Labyrinth, Good Night." At that point the stage lights dimmed and MAZE walked over to Mina before going back stage with her.

"You've played so beautifully Mina," he grinned as he kissed her, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his hands to her chest in the way that 'MAZE' would. Mina turned to him, grabbed him by the collar and passionately kissed him as they found their photographs to be taken.

"Excuse me," they heard a man say as he came to them and both Mina and MAZE smiled at the band's manager as he escorted them to a private room inside a private room. "You two were amazing up there," he said as he gave them double thumbs up.

"Thanks, we've got some more shows booked," MAZE said before Mina walked over to the manager and whispered in his ear.

"Did you find us somewhere to change, father?" she asked and the manager nodded.

"The family has planned a private room for dinner tonight. I can't wait to spend time with my kids," he said before MAZE smiled and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off.

"What do you know about the American music field?" MAZE asked his manager who was looking at him with a grin.

"Well, you've topped the international charts but if you're -" the manager said before Mina spoke up.

"MAZE and I are thinking that we'd like to move to LA. That is if that's alright with you," she said to him and Kuu barely kept himself in character with his excitement.

"I'll make sure to check what you'd need to do so," he said, "Now go get changed. You two did amazing work tonight. Very impressive."

As he left, Mina went over to MAZE and pressed herself against him in a very Setsuka-like manner. "Look at you," she said as she ran her fingers through his hair, "Asking about whether a certain someone can continue singing in America."

"Would you mind that?" MAZE asked and Mina shook her head.

"No, because I know that my love is capable of doing anything that he sets out to do. He can fly in the sky like a fairy prince," she grinned and MAZE looked at her and nodded.

"Yes, just like a fairy prince."

…..

…..

Once they got to the restaurant, both Kuon and Kyoko were back to being themselves and they saw Julie and Kuu waiting for them outside. Both of them looking excited and it was obvious that Kuu hadn't been able to keep this particular secret very well. Julie immediately wrapped her arms around her daughter in law with a huge grin on her face.

"I just heard the news," she smiled happily and Kyoko looked at Kuu who was looking slightly guilty about spilling it already when he didn't know all of the details about their planned move.

"Well, we wanted to know if it's alright with you. We want to raise our child around family but -" Kuon attempted to tell them but was stopped mid-sentence by his mother.

"Kuon," Julie said as tears sparkled in her eyes. "This makes me so happy," she admitted. "To know that we'll get to have the honor of seeing our grandchild grow up. This is amazing. Thank you."

Kuon shifted before smiling happily, "I'm glad that you're so happy to meet them. We'll need someone to give us a guide on how to be great parents and I can't think of two people I'd rather ask."

Julie smiled as she tried to keep the tears from ruining her makeup and Kuu was giving one of the blinding Hizuri smiles as well. They really were wonderful people and maybe there were more opportunities in America than they had originally thought. Only time would give away these answers.

 **End of Chapter Sixteen**

 **Thank you for Reading**

 **Thank you Reviewers Chapter Fifteen**

AlthenaKnightstar, Crazy4Animation, DreamIdol, Guest, JeremyVD, Kris, paulagato,


	17. Chapter 17 - Starting To Figure It Out

**AN:** I hope you enjoy this chapter 😊 Next chapter I plan on showing another concert.

 **Chapter Seventeen – Starting to Figure it out**

Somehow the news had come out about the pregnancy. With this in mind, Lory had arranged for Kuon to go onto one of the top morning interview shows – which was hosted by some LME talent section members – to discuss his plans and to also talk about the baby and his time away from Japan. Kyoko had volunteered to do it as well but she had some work that she had to finish up at the same time.

This meant that that morning, Kuon Hizuri was taking one for the team.

Kairi Saiga leaned forwards as she smiled charmingly at Kuon, "So, I just want to voice my joy at hearing your wonderful news. I'm hoping that we can confirm it on our show, would that be possible?"

Kuon smiled as he looked down and then turned to the Kairi, "Kyoko and I are expecting a baby. We recently had it checked with a doctor who confirmed this fact. We're very excited about this new change and new addition to our lives. I'm sure that if Kyoko was here she'd tell you that as well."

Kairi smiled as she looked up at Motoko Yamada, her cohost who was also smiling at this news. "Do you think that we'll see your child as a third generation HIzuri actor. With Kyoko's talented genes as well it would be interesting to know what the next generation of actors looks like."

"There are many commercials which include babies and younger children. I'd love to see either of you with your child in that type of a setting," Motoko added and Kuon shook his head.

"As nice as your comments are, I think that Kyoko and I will be giving our child the same opportunities that my mother and father gave me. My dad purposefully kept me out of the limelight when I was a child. I'm not meaning to say that he kept me in the dark or in his shadow but it was important to my parents that I experienced as normal a childhood as possible. It wasn't until I told my father that he inspired me to go into acting that he tried to help me into the acting arena." Kuon chuckled a little to himself, "News reports would tell you how _that_ worked out."

"You mean how you dazzled all of Japan by your outstanding work under the stage name of Ren Tsuruga?" Motoko winked at him. "How you became the standard that Japanese actors measured themselves. How year after year, Ren Tsuruga was considered the best of the best."

"You're giving me far too much credit for what Ren did," Kuon said as both interviewers laughed at that. "However, Kyoko and I are going to be leaving Japan for a few years. We want to raise the baby in California in the United States. We want my parents to be a part of our child's life."

"Aww, no fun," Kairi pouted, "I wish that the great Kuu Hizuri or Shuuhei Hozu was moving back here," she said before smiling softly, "However, I do understand your desire to be around family. We will miss the two of you great actors though."

"Do you think that you would ever want to come back to Japan or would this be considered a permanent move for you two?" Motoko asked as she thought about how Kuon had said 'a few years'.

Kuon looked at them, "Well, plans change and people change, but the idea right now is to raise our child until he or she is of school age and then move back to Japan. We want the child to be born in Japan and to receive a Japanese education but we feel that in the formative years, family should be given highest priority."

"Can I express how missed you will be?" Motoko asked and Kairi nodded as well.

"Now, as you know, we have questions that are sent in by our fans and this one is quite a tasty one. Are you ready for it?" Kairi asked as she picked up a note card and Kuon looked at her with a weak smile and a curious look.

"Alright," he said not wanting to seem hesitant or unsure when on live television.

"First of all, have you heard of the group Labyrinth and the main singer MAZE who has been a focal point of the music industry this year. For those of you who don't know, MAZE has broken more records during his first year than even Shou did in his first year. Plus, his music has a more mysterious style to it," Kairi said as Kuon reached for his water and tried to act calmly as he took a sip.

"I believe I have heard of him. I don't listen to a lot of music but I do listen to some. Kyoko is a fan of his if I understand it correctly," Kuon said trying not to act strange or unsettled. He didn't want anyone to connect him with MAZE whilst he was still touring.

"Well, our viewer is asking if you, Kuon Hizuri, are MAZE and there's a bit of an explanation to this conspiracy?" Kairi smiled as Motoko leaned in closer. "Our viewer says that you and MAZE are often seen in the same general locations and that if you compare some of the lyrics with articles and interviews that you've been a part of in the past, there are many many similarities."

"As far as I understand it, singers use a lot of generic lyrics when they write so that they can appeal to as many people as possible as a celebrity, I've been trained to do the same in articles and interviews. There are certain rules that LME guides its celebrities to do, I'm sure that they have said the same thing to you too."

"They have," Motoko nodded, "but how can you explain the locations?"

"I go to many places where people believe it is easy to spot a celebrity. There are many places where celebrities go because they are sick of the cameras and are just trying to have a normal life. I have sought these places out and I'm sure that MAZE has done the same," Kuon said before laughing. "However, if this is one way of getting more attention, it's always fun to imagine these conspiracies, people in the States do it all the time."

Kuon wished that Kyoko was here in the audience. Even at times when he had been able to fool everyone else around him, she was the hardest to convince.

Kairi smiled, "Maybe you could debunk the conspiracy right now?" she said before looking at Motoko. "We're huge fans of yours Kuon and it would be an honor to have you sing for us," she said. Motoko nodded.

"It can be anything of your choosing and I apologize for putting you on the spot right now," she said with a playful gleam in her eyes. "If you can sing then you'd be the perfect package to the majority of the woman out there. We're rooting for you."

Kuon laughed weakly, "Unfortunately, I don't want to make your ratings plummet for this show which might happen if I sing so I respectfully refuse to sing, if that's okay?"

Kairi smiled before giggling, "We won't force you. I'm going to say that my theory is that Kuon Hizuri and MAZE are not the same person but it would be wonderful if you both were." Motoko didn't say anything but she kept looking at Kuon as if thinking the opposite. Hopefully people wouldn't really try to investigate this. He had survived for so long as Ren Tsuruga and had come out as Kuon Hizuri in his own time. Were people really thinking that he was a chameleon and looking for any possibility.

Well, they had been doing that for longer than they had known that he was Kuon HIzuri. It was when Cain Heel's identity had been revealed that they had become more suspicious of him. This was just one more disguise in a career of many.

…..

…..

Kyoko looked at her husband as she got back home and smiled as she walked over to him, she threw her arms around him from behind and softly kissed his cheek with a grin. Kuon turned to her and sighed, he had the feeling that she at least knew the mystery question that he had been asked at the interview. He smiled to her before letting his fingers run through her hair and tuck a few loose strands behind her ear.

"You've been busted," she said as she kissed him on the lips playfully. She winked at him before taking a few steps back. "I knew you were playing it too obviously."

"Come on," Kuon smiled, "It was a game but I hope that I don't get completely unmasked. I'd like to leave this country with people trying to figure out whether or not I really was MAZE. I want that to be something they discuss in the years before we come back."

"Oh, you think you'll be able to be MAZE for that long?" Kyoko winked as Kuon looked down at the bags that he was packing. She raised an eyebrow before seeing that they were different suitcases than the ones he usually used. These had a type of vibe that would come from a visual-kei artist. These were bags that would most likely come from someone who was -

"These are the bags that you're using as MAZE," she said before he nodded, "For our trip. Do I get a bag too?"

"Of course, _Mina_ gets a bag. MAZE would never be so self-absorbed to forget his wonderful and supportive girlfriend," he watched as Kyoko went into the bedroom and heard a squeal of delight. He had picked out some very fashionable bags that Setsuka would have liked but they had pictures of bulls on them to match up with her name. He had also put in a makeup kit that had been recommended to him by Jelly.

"Kuon, you're still excited about our kid, right?" she asked and Kuon looked at her confused.

How could he _not_ be happy about the fact that they were going to be raising a baby together? He wanted to be a father and hopefully as he focused on his roles as a dad, he would make up for some of the maturity that he felt that he was lacking as a human being.

"It's my greatest wish to be part of our family," he told Kyoko and saw her smile happily.

"Our family," she repeated before looking at Kuon, "I know that we've already discussed this and I already knew your answer but I think my favorite part of the interview was you saying that you and I will encourage any dreams that our child has whether or not they include acting. Kuon, you are brave and strong and I love you so much," she said. "I feel the same way and though I'm still scared, I know that Labyrinth can achieve anything."

 **End of Chapter Seventeen**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Special thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Sixteen**

Crazy4Animation, Kris, PaulaGaTo


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